Srinagar: Demand for making hospitals fireproof escalates

Srinagar: A massive fire recently broke out at Bone and Joint (B&J) Hospital, Barzulla, on Friday late evening after which the senior vice president of Peoples Conference( PC), Abdul GaniVakil urged the government to immediately take steps to make the hospitals fireproof.

Vakil expressed his concern over the tragic incident and demanded to conduct an inquiry to know the reason behind the incident.

He told "If left unattended, these incidents could prove catastrophic. Incidents like these not only warrant an official inquiry to know the cause of the fire but should also act as an eye-opener for the government to take immediate steps to make the hospital buildings fireproof."

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He told GK that the government should take immediate steps to make the buildings fireproof as major healthcare buildings were unprotected from fire. The fire incident once again reflects that the hospital buildings in Kashmir were not safe for patients, staff, and attendants.

In all hospital buildings without an internal fire safety mechanism, he said it was essential to install one. "Similarly, the age-old electric wiring in these hospitals needs to be replaced, besides measures should be taken immediately to rectify the loopholes," Vakil added.

Following, National Conference (NC) MPs Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Muhammad Akbar Lone, and HasnainMasoodi expressing their grief over the tragic incident told that "owing to the suitable and centrally located site of the hospital, the new facility should come up at the same site. Until the new facility comes up, a stop-gap arrangement should be put in place at the same site to cater to the out and inpatient rush."

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They demanded the administration to immediately begin reconstruction work and do it in double shifts in light of the hospital's importance and central location.

RK reports that the trio also asked the government to carry out a fire safety audit of all hospitals across Kashmir to prevent fire incidents in medical institutions and ensure that lapses found in the fire safety audits are corrected forthwith.

They stated that all primary, secondary, and tertiary health care facilities across the region should adhere to fire safety standards.

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