Snuffing out young lives

The fire at a Jhansi hospital is a painful reminder of the callous approach of administrations to fire safety

The fire in a Jhansi hospital that killed 10 newborns late Friday evening should make everyone angry. Expectedly, a probe has been announced to find out the cause of the fire and fix accountability, but the question that needs to be asked is why enough is not done to make hospitals a safe space. An analysis by Indian researchers published in a Springer-Nature journal in 2023 showed hospital fires rose considerably from the levels a decade and a half ago, with nearly as many incidents in private hospitals as in government ones.

Firefighters work after a fire broke out in a neonatal intensive care unit at Jhansi Medical College hospital in Jhansi (AP) (HT_PRINT)

The Jhansi incident has stoked painful recollections of the fire in a private clinic in east Delhi in May, in which seven infants died. Similar incidents were reported from hospitals in Gorakhpur, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata and many other cities and towns in recent years. In the east Delhi incident, as in some of the others, multiple lapses on the part of the hospital administration and civic and government agencies were to blame for the fire and the casualties. There were illegalities; many norms were not complied with; and agencies and governments turned a blind eye to most. The script is always the same: Soon after such incidents, the agencies and governments involved are quick to blame the hospitals and their administrations, throwing the rule book at them. It is, in fact, the failure of state agencies to maintain vigil and enforce rules that facilitate accidents.

Hospitals, of course, have a particular vulnerability to fires. Oxygen cylinders and concentration equipment help fires spread quickly, as do several combustible reagents; they have a critical dependence on heavy electrical load equipment; and their construction does not facilitate smoke dispersion (sealed glass fixtures for efficient air-conditioning do not help). This calls for regular and scrupulous inspection, risk assessment and rigorous enforcement of fire safety measures. But goes beyond reducing risks and having adequate material arrangements in place to effectively contain fires; it extends to up-to-date training of hospital personnel. In Jhansi, as in other similar accidents, news reports have spoken of unclear protocols and haphazard responses.

The Uttar Pradesh government has expectedly ordered a tri-level inquiry — by the state health department, local police and city administration, and a magisterial probe — making the prospects of a thorough and conclusive investigation encouraging. But the state needs to do more — as do other states and Union Territories. A time-bound safety audit of hospitals under their purview would be a good start — and the findings need to be widely publicised.