Ravi Shankar
The increasing incidents of fire in hospitals in India are worrying. In the same month, innocent people were once again killed in fire incidents in two hospitals in Maharashtra and Bhopal. Ten corona patients died after a fire broke out in the Intensive Care Unit of the Civil Hospital in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. Seven people were also seriously injured. The wounds of this accident in Ahmednagar were not yet healed that a few days later four newborns died due to fire in the newborn room at Hamidia Hospital in Bhopal.
These incidents of fire in hospitals have once again raised the question as to where is the security lapse. When the hospital itself becomes the enemy of life, then who will the patients trust? Surprisingly, even after the previous incidents, the negligence of the management of the hospitals has not diminished. Looks like we don’t want to take any lessons from past incidents. Whether the reason for the fire is electrical issues or some other reason, but its cost is to be paid by the patients.
Although after every such incident, the government-administration makes promises and claims to fix the system, but still the incidents are not taking the name of stopping. It is clear from this that the safety related security system in hospitals remains a victim of major flaws somewhere. Neither the attention of the government nor the hospital management is received in this direction. After every major incident, the administration and the government come into action, but alas, the government or the administration shuns it as a general negligence or human error.
It has come to the notice so far that generally there is gross violation of the prescribed standards of fire safety in hospitals. Rescue equipment does not work in the event of a fire. In most hospitals, fire-fighting equipment is a sham. Similarly, there is a lot of negligence in the regular maintenance of electrical equipment in the hospital premises. As a result of this, there are reports of fire in hospitals every day.
However, after the incident of arson in hospitals in Maharashtra and Bhopal, questions are being raised once again regarding the arrangement of fire safety in hospitals. In such a situation, most of the district hospitals or other government do not have adequate arrangements for fire prevention. In fact, the local administration does not seem to be serious about government hospitals. Nor do public representatives take up such matters. Whereas a large number of people visit government hospitals daily for treatment. This is the reason why there is a risk of heavy damage in the event of an accident.
Significantly, during the Corona epidemic, the Supreme Court had made a strict comment this year regarding the incidents of arson in private hospitals. During a hearing, the Supreme Court had said that hospitals have now turned into a big industry which is running at the cost of human life. Humanity has ended in them. We cannot allow them to prosper at the cost of human life. Such hospitals should be closed. The court had clearly said that the government should insist on strengthening health facilities. The Supreme Court had said these things during a hearing on incidents related to proper treatment of corona patients, maintenance of dead bodies and incidents of fire in hospitals across the country.
The key question is that safety and security standards are not implemented in most hospitals. The condition is that the hospitals do not even have equipment like water hydrants to extinguish the fire. The narrow stairs are the only way to get down from the upper floors of the hospitals. Most of the fire extinguishers that are seen on the walls will also be found so old that they are of no use when needed.
There have been a surprising number of fires in hospitals in India this year. Accidents one after the other are proof that we do not learn lessons from past accidents. The major reason for this is that no accident is fully investigated in depth. In the investigation, it is not known what the real reason is and what steps should be taken so that such incidents do not happen in future. It should be that after any fire, the reasons that come up in the investigation, work should be done on the proper arrangements to prevent them. But it doesn’t look like this.
The carelessness of the hospital managements and the local administration regarding the incidents of fire is giving rise to new challenges. In order to avoid incidents of fire in hospitals, as immediate measures, adequate fire extinguishers, availability of water and supply system will have to be repaired in time. Remember, often adversity strikes on several fronts at once. Instead of turning away from the challenges in times of crisis, the best option is to solve them.
It is not that there is any lack of rules and standards in the country regarding fire prevention. The Bureau of Indian Standards has already prepared the building construction code. However, as they are not mandatory, whether or not to implement these standards depends on the will of the states. Two years ago this issue had also raised in the Lok Sabha. Then there was a demand to make the National Building Code mandatory. The National Building Code prepared in 1970 was amended in 1983, 1987, 2005 and made it effective. Then in 2016 it was revised.
Part IV of this Code describes in detail measures for the prevention of fire accidents in institutions such as hospitals. For this, about one thousand three hundred standards are mentioned for the parameters of building materials and its testing methods. An ordinary person may not be aware of the building code, but it should be compulsorily implemented during the construction of hospitals and public buildings. But unfortunately the seriousness that the State Public Works Departments should show towards the provisions of the National Building Code is missing. Except for a handful of government and private hospitals, the provisions of the National Building Code are not complied with except for the provision of fire safety during their construction.
Forensic experts term the incidents of fires in hospitals as the result of human negligence and indifference to rules. Despite this, except in some cases, due to the collusion with the agencies of the states, strict action is not taken against the culprits. If the competent authority takes strict action in such cases, then surely the accountability of the people and institutions who endanger human life can be fixed.
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