Govt will allocate funds for fire safety audit of district hospitals: Maha Health Minister

The fire safety officer will monitor the fire safety-related aspects in all the government-run districts, tehsil, and rural hospitals, he added.

The minister said that there is a need to think about what kind of material should be used inside intensive care units (ICUs) to avoid fire incidents.

"The aspect related to continuous screening of ICUs and other sections of hospitals has also been discussed," he said.

Talking about the Ahmednagar hospital fire incident, Tope said officials have apprised him that prima facie, a short circuit was the cause of the blaze.

"A committee formed to probe the Ahmednagar fire tragedy has been asked to submit a report in eight days, following which action will be taken against the guilty," Tope said.

The blaze erupted around 11 am on Saturday in the ICU ward, where 17 Covid-19 patients, many of them senior citizens and some on ventilator or oxygen support, were undergoing treatment.

"After the fire broke out, the staff present there immediately used fire extinguishers to douse the flames, but due to the thick smoke, the fire extinguishers did not work effectively enough," he said.

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