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Only 50 hospitals have fire safety clearance in GB Nagar
Noida: The fire department has given a list of 50 hospitals that have the requisite no-objection certificate (NOC) from the fire department, a mandatory clearance
Noida: The fire department has given a list of 50 hospitals that have the requisite no-objection certificate (NOC) from the fire department, a mandatory clearance that is needed to function in the district.
The list has been handed over to Dr Anurag Bhargava, chief medical officer, Gautam Budh Nagar. According to Bhargava, there are over 350 hospitals in Gautam Budh Nagar.
“The fire department has given us a list of 50 hospitals who have the required fire safety arrangements. There are above 350 small and big nursing homes and hospitals in the district and we have started serving notices to the rest,” Bhargava said.
“We are going to hold a meeting this week under the supervision of the district magistrate to discuss the issue of fire arrangements at hospitals. That so many hospitals lack fire safety clearance is a serious issue and we are going to take strict action against those who will fail to act upon the notices served,” Bhargava said.
On January 1, fire broke out in the server room in the basement of a ESIC hospital in Sector 24. Hundreds of patients had be evacuated from the building and they were left in the open in a chilly weather.
The CMO had also asked fire officials to come up with solutions for hospitals that were built in 1960s or around that period as most of these facilities lack modern fire safety arrangements.
“There are around 32 hospitals in the district which were built in the 1960s. Such old buildings don’t have fire safety facilities such as dual exits and other arrangements as per the upgraded guidelines. We have asked the fire department to come with options for old buildings to ensure the safety of patients. These buildings can’t be demolished and constructed all over again. We will take the required action against the newer hospitals if they fail to get the fire NOC,” Bhargava said.
After the ESIC hospital incident, the CMO had written to the fire department to conduct checks at all hospitals in the district to ensure fire safety measures.
According to the fire officials, old buildings are exempted from having dual exits and an open area which are compulsory for newer buildings as per the upgraded fire safety guidelines. It is necessary to have fire arrangements such as automatic detection and fire alarm system, water sprinkling facility, among others, to get the NOC from the fire department.
“We have provided the list of hospitals to the CMO to act against the ones which have failed to get the compulsory NOC,” Arun Kumar, chief fire officer, Gautam Budh Nagar, said.
