1800 hospitals get notices for violating fire safety norms in Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow: Nearly 1,800 hospitals across the state have been issued notices for fire safety violations in a recent statewide electrical safety audit conducted by the Uttar Pradesh Fire and Emergency Service. 

The decision was made in response to numerous instances of hospitals catching fire throughout the state in recent months. Despite the ongoing efforts of the UP fire services to conduct safety drives and awareness campaigns, a comprehensive assessment was conducted statewide, prompted by the fire incident at Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS).

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported the incident where two patients, including a child and a woman, died after a fire broke out in an operation theatre of SGPGIMS.

Also read- Fire At SGPGI Operation Theatre Claims Life Of Two Patient, One Woman, One Child

In a recent interview with HT, Avinash Chandra, the director general of UP Fire Services, highlighted the department's actions against hospitals for safety violations and emphasized the ongoing efforts to promote fire safety awareness in the state. 

To identify hospitals operating without proper fire safety measures, he said that the department conducted a comprehensive statewide electrical audit and awareness drive, targeting the 12,276 licensed hospitals, with additional facilities operating without proper licensing. The audit was carried out from December 20 to 27 and witnessed a second round from December 30 to January 5 due to the sheer number of hospitals. 

Chandra identified electrical short circuits as the primary cause of hospital fires, with winter exacerbating the risk due to increased usage of electrical appliances. 

"As heavy electrical equipment in hospitals run 24x7, they are more prone to suffering short circuits, which many a time take the form of fire. Many pieces of equipment have poor quality wires with lower current carrying capacities," said Chandra.

When asked about the action that can be taken against hospitals for violating safety norms as per the UP Fire and Emergency Services Act, 2022, Chandra said that there are very strict criteria in the law that will be invoked now.

"Any hospital or other premises sans proper fire safety measures will be sealed. We first serve them notice asking them to take corrective measures. If they fail to ensure the same, the toughest action will be taken against them," he added.

While actions against approximately 1,800 hospitals are in progress, the department aims to avoid shutting down facilities to prevent disruptions in health services. 

Speaking about this, Chandra said, "Almost 20-25 hospitals in each district, which means about 1,800 hospitals, have been served notice for not ensuring fire safety measures within their premises. The issue is sub-judice. Our idea is to take corrective action instead of shutting down a hospital as that might hamper health services in the area."

Following the fire incident at PGI, a seven-member committee was constituted to probe the matter. According to Chandra, the committee investigating the PGI fire will submit its report soon. He said that the department will take action based on the recommendations and findings of the committee accordingly. 

Further, he added that the department is training every firefighter to drive, perform a drill and do everything else required in a rescue operation. "This will eliminate the requirement of deploying more people for a small operation."

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