Article: “Hospital inferno leaves 11 COVID patients dead”
Context: Eleven COVID-19 patients were killed after a major fire broke out in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the district civil hospital in Ahmednagar city of Maharashtra on 6th November,2021.
Issues Identified:
After the recent incidents of fire at hospitals treating COVID-19 patients in the State, Fire audits had been ordered. According to Ahmednagar District Collector, such an audit had been carried out at this hospital too. After the fire audit, the hospital had been told to put in place an effective fire-fighting system, including a pipeline and a sprinkler system. But the work was incomplete due to “want of funds” though “they had fire extinguishers”.
Fire service is a state subject and has been included as municipal function in the XII schedule of the Constitution.
National Building Code of India covers the detailed guidelines for construction, maintenance and fire safety of the structures.
Safety norms are specified for high rise buildings and a proper horizontal evacuation system in high-rise hospitals and public buildings.
It is found to be an effective tool to assess fire safety standards of an organisation or an occupancy. It is aimed to assess the building for compliance with the National Building Code of India, relevant Indian standards and the legislations enacted by state governments and local bodies, on fire prevention, fire protection and life safety measures.
Data: According to National Crime Record Bureau, 18,450 cases of fire accidents were reported in 2015 which injured 1,193 and killed 17,700. Fire has been ranked fifth, up by three positions from the last year’s ranking, cites the report.
1. There has been a steep rise in the constructions of buildings in India, especially High Rise buildings. High rise buildings lack adequate in-built fire protection systems.
2. Majority of the buildings lack NoC from the fire department and continue to sustain huge populations at the risk of their lives.
3. Municipal corporations and local bodies are responsible for providing fire services, but due to lack of resources, fire services are ill equipped in providing adequate fire safety cover to the population.
4. There are no clear cut provisions in any of the safety legislations in India regarding the scope, objectives, methodology and periodicity of a fire safety audit.
5. Poorly enforced regulations.
6. Lack of maintenance makes the equipment dysfunctional.
1. The government should continue to provide financial support and assistance in augmenting and modernising the fire departments.
2. 2.Building awareness among citizens about fire prevention and protection measures .
3. Organising fire fighting workshop.
4. Fire service departments should visit above mentioned installations periodically (once in six months) and take appropriate actions against erring establishments.
5. Auditing should be made mandatory all over India and the work should be entrusted to independent agencies. It is reasonable to have a fire safety audit every year.
Although there are many rules and regulations, codes and standards related to fire safety, these are hardly followed. There is a need to revisit fire safety audit regulations and state fire services as well.