Trauma center fire: KGMU admin admits fire alarm did not work

The fire was noticed only when smoke started billowing, because the fire alarm did not work . The water sprinklers too did not work so the fire was doused only when fire tenders reached the spot.

As there was no evacuation plan with the security personnel, the Trauma Centre once again proved to be risky for patients on Saturday night that was a nightmare for many .

The fire system that was installed on the campus beside the Trauma Centre building with a massive investment is also not functional. (HT Photo)

The fire was noticed only when smoke started billowing, because the fire alarm did not work . The water sprinklers too did not work so the fire was doused only when fire tenders reached the spot.

“Yes, the fire alarm didn’t work,” admitted KGMU vice chancellor Prof MLB Bhatt. “Probe will find out why this happened and this probe will be conducted by a high level independent agency,” he said.

But this was not the first time that fire broke out on the campus and the alarms remained silent. It seems no lessons have been learnt from the past incidents. Two months ago, a short circuit in one of the sleep labs in the department of physiology had caused a major fire resulting in loss of property but the water sprinklers installed there did not work. Even after the incident, no effort was made to check the fire alarms and water sprinklers on the campus.

The fire system that was installed on the campus beside the Trauma Centre building with a massive investment is also not functional.

“There have been incidents of patients getting stuck in the lift due to poor maintenance and even the cleaning of the false ceiling is pending since a decade. This poses a threat of infection to patients coming here,” said a doctor working at the Trauma Centre.