E-Paper
MHA asks states, UTs to ensure there are no fires in hospitals
The ministry has taken cognizance of occurrence of fire incidents, caused by short-circuiting, in hospitals and nursing homes in the last few days
The ministry of home affairs has asked all the states and Union Territories to ensure that no fire incident occurs in any of the health facilities (particularly Covid-19 dedicated facilities) both in the government and private sector.
The ministry has taken cognizance of occurrence of fire incidents, caused by short-circuiting, in hospitals and nursing homes in the last few days.
In his letter to the states/UTs, Union home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla said that in the context of recent fire incidents and the impending summer season, either because of high temperature, lack of maintenance or high load on the internal wirings within the facilities, short circuiting takes place, leading to fire incidents and consequential loss of life and essential infrastructure.
The communication added that care should be taken to put in place a plan of action to ensure that no fire incident occurs in these facilities.
A fire was reported from a hospital in Vikaspuri on Tuesday in which 26 Covid-19 patients were rescued. Another fire was reported from Virar, Mumbai, on April 23 at Vijay Vallabh hospital in which 15 patients died. On April 25, three patients died in a Surat hospital fire.
The MHA has asked the states/UTs to conduct a detailed review with officials from the health, power and fire departments, and prepare a detailed plan of action to ensure that fire safety measures are in place in all hospitals and health facilities.
Also Read | MHA seeks report on post-poll violence in Bengal
Bhalla also pointed out to the recently issued advisory of the Director General (Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards) on fire safety in hospitals and nursing homes.
The communication highlighted that a large number of Covid-19 cases are under treatment in Covid-dedicated health facilities across the country. “In most of the cases, oxygen supported beds, ICU beds, and ventilators are critical interventions, and therefore, it is important to ensure that there is uninterrupted power supply on regular 24x7 basis, in all the hospitals and medical facilities,” said Press Information Bureau in a statement.
It added – “…saving every life is a priority, and it is critical to ensure that required support is provided to all health facilities managing Covid-19 by taking requisite actions in advance to avert any incident, which could hamper effective health care delivery to patients.”
