Fire Safety Lapses in Indian Healthcare Centres

Frequency of fire mishaps in hospitals definitely questions our resolve to save precious lives. It’s an irony that we build hospitals to treat the ailing people, but invariably fail to ensure proper safety measures in those buildings. Thus, it is no wonder that we hear about fire in hospitals more often than not. During the last six months, four such incidents have claimed nearly 40 lives. The latest fire in the special unit of Bhandara General Hospital in Maharashtra killed 10 new born babies. In August, 2020, eight people died when a fire raged through a hospital in Ahmedabad. Again in Gujarat, in November fire at a Rajkot hospital claimed five lives and 10 people died in a fire at a Vijayawada hospital in Andhra Pradesh. It is important to note that all these fire incidents took place when the country’s health services were on maximum alert due to the prevailing pandemic situation. It clearly shows that negligence is inherent in our health services.

When negligence joins hands with corruption it becomes a deadly concoction as found in most of these cases. In the case of Ahmedabad fire, faulty ventilator system caused the fire. The systems in question were purchased to combat the pandemic. Can these deaths be attributed to Covid-19? Certainly not as fire abruptly ended the fight of those eight people against the lethal virus. If we go back down memory lane, we will find that 89 people died when fire broke out at AMRI Hospital in Kolkata in 2011. On enquiry, an unholy nexus between the hospital authorities and the fire department came to light. The nexus allowed the hospital to continue its services without proper fire safety measures. Altogether charges have been framed against 16 people including board members and directors of the hospital. But so far, no one has been pronounced guilty as the legal battle is still on.

It is shameful that despite promises of appropriate action after every fire incident in hospitals, the ground realities remain the same. Regular fire audits even in government hospitals still remain a distant dream. The hospital staff are not properly trained to handle fire emergencies which includes shifting of patients to safety, especially those who are admitted in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and on life-support systems. Routinely the government issues circulars to adhere to fire norms but those circulars invariably find a place in waste paper baskets. Many experts have suggested that stringent laws should be made to punish builders, hospital managements, civic and fire authorities, approvers and auditors to prevent such tragic incidents. But so far, no such law has been enacted. In absence of appropriate law, the victims and their family members are being denied justice with probes and trials always going at a snail’s pace. Each tragedy unfolds a similar pattern of promises, investigations, blame game and compensation, but not punishment. Thus, it is no wonder that in 2017, Global Disease Burden Study found that among five of the major fires in the world, one serious fire accident took place in India. The clear lack of safety in Indian healthcare centres must be addressed with utmost urgency.