Pune district collector to review all hospitals for fire compliance
A day after the fire at the Ahmednagar civil hospital, Rajesh Deshmukh, district collector of Pune, will undertake a review to check the fire audit and compliance at hospitals in the district
PUNE A day after the fire at the Ahmednagar civil hospital, Rajesh Deshmukh, district collector of Pune, will undertake a review to check the fire audit and compliance at hospitals in the district.
The district administration’s fire audit report lists 96 primary healthcare centres. Of these, 89 have completed the fire audit and 79 have gotten a fire safety certificate as well. The administration has stated that some of the centres did not get certificates primarily due to issues like staff training, and the licence for fire extinguishers not being renewed.
The fire at the Ahmednagar civil hospital led to the tragic deaths of 12 senior citizens admitted to an ICU ward dedicated to Covid-19 patients.
Collector Deshmukh said, “I have asked all hospitals and also PMRDA officials to join us for the review meet. Earlier, we had released funds to ensure that all hospitals under the Pune district collectorate, mainly in the rural areas, have complied as per fire norms. We will also request officials from PMC and PCMC to ensure that their hospitals are fire compliant. However, this meet will primarily focus on ongoing work at all hospitals and also the pending work that needs to be started.”
Post the Bhandara fire accident on January 9, 2021, in which 10 newborns lost thier lives, the Pune administration had set a deadline for all hospitals to ensure fire compliance in the next three years. However, as of now, 80-90% of the primary health centres and about 50% of the rural hospitals and sub-district hospitals are yet to comply.