West Bengal government directs authorities to set up hospital level fire safety committees

Kolkata: As part of the West Bengal government's ongoing efforts to improve the fire safety infrastructure in hospitals across the state, it has passed an order directing the setting up of Hospital Level Fire Safety committees to ensure proper fire safety mechanisms.

The Department of Health and Family Welfare issued the government order on Monday, May 29, directing all the principals of medical college and hospitals and the chief medical officer of health (CMoH) in all the districts to set up the committees at the hospitals included under 'Other Hospital Categories', along with the already included district hospitals, medical colleges, sub-divisional hospitals, state general hospitals and the superspecialty hospitals.

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The committee has been mandated to have one representative from the Health and Family Welfare Department, one engineer from the Civil and Electrical Wing of Public Works Department (PWD), and one representative from the Fire and Emergency Services Department.

Listing out the committee's responsibilities, the order states, "This committee will meet fortnightly for joint inspection and take all necessary steps for fire safety as mandated in the aforesaid notification."

The committee has been directed to check the functionality of fire safety measures and to check for all probable vulnerable sources which can result in a fire accident. An order regarding this was already issued in December 2022 where it directed the setting up of the committee at each health facility down to the level of Sub-divisional hospitals.

The current order extends the same direction to hospitals included under 'Other hospital categories'. Thirty-eight hospitals have been listed out under the 'Other Hospital' category by the government in its order.

The government facilities have been directed to conduct regular fire safety audits and to ensure the fire safety mechanisms are designed to an optimum level of precautionary measures, as per a media report in the Millenium Post. The fire safety committees have been asked to send remedial suggestions to the state Health Department and it is also entrusted with the power to recommend corrective measures in hospitals.

The health department had also issued another order earlier this month directing the CMoHs to complete all the ongoing works and to obtain or renew fire safety certificates upon timely completion of the work.

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