Op Sindoor mock drill unearths glaring gaps in Bengal hospitals' fire safety
These startling facts came to light after a few govt-run hospitals were asked to review the firefighting system and check how prepared they were to deal with fire
Several government-run hospitals, including two medical colleges and hospitals, in West Bengal do not have a no objection certificate (NOC) for fire safety.
This major safety lapse was detected during the civil defence mock drills conducted in the state ahead of Operation Sindoor last month, The Federal has reliably learnt.
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The two medical colleges that failed the safety test are Sagar Dutta Medical College and Hospital at Kamarhati and Barasat Government Medical College and Hospital, sources said.
No safety certificate
Seven general hospitals and three sub-divisional hospitals too failed to produce the crucial safety certificate.
“These startling facts came to light after a few government-run hospitals in the state were asked to review the firefighting system and check how prepared they were to deal with fire or any disaster. This was part of the drill to prepare some hospitals for treatment of injured in case of a war,” revealed an official, adding that there would be many more hospitals in the state, both government-owned and private, that lacked fire safety mechanisms.
Twelve hospitals have been asked to apply afresh for the safety certificate after putting in place all the safety measures. Even fire alarms in many of these hospitals were found to be defunct.
State govt orders
The finding was shocking as the state government vide a letter dated January 24 this year had directed the state-run health facilities to “review and strengthen capacities for prevention, preparedness and mitigation against fire accidents.”
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“In view of the above, it is kindly requested to take necessary action to ensure fire safety compliance and conduct follow-up reviews on a regular intervals basis as directed to ensure the implementation of these critical safety measures. In addition, please take necessary action to keep a complete firefighting and detection system installed in good efficient working conditions at all times,” the letter read.
According to health department sources, 39 safety aspects are required to be ticked during a fire safety audit of a hospital. Condition of electrical paraphernalia, fire detection system, fire extinguishing system, and fire-response mechanism are some of the aspects, apart from other general issues such as whether a hospital building has adequate entry and exit points.
No lessons learnt
The state fire and emergency services department is required to periodically conduct the audit. But the recent findings exposed the implementation and monitoring gap, which clearly showed the state has not yet learnt its lessons from the deadly fire accidents in the past.
At least 92 people were killed in a fire at a private hospital in Kolkata in 2011. After the incident, the state government directed all hospitals and business establishments to improve fire safety measures and to have dedicated firefighting teams.
These guidelines are hardly followed, the state fire and emergency services department reportedly found during another drive across around 350 establishments in Kolkata in April this year.
Recurring phenomenon
As a result, fire in public places is a recurring phenomenon in the state. Fourteen persons, including two children, were killed in a massive fire at a Kolkata hotel last month. A patient died in the ICU when a fire broke out at an ESI hospital in Kolkata last year. These are just a few incidents.
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Another fire broke out on the first floor of the Banquet hall in Kolkata’s Topsia on Sunday (June 1). Though there was no casualty, the repeated incidents call for some tough measures.
To deal with the threat, the state government claimed to have formed a 15-member task force last month. It has been asked to submit a report within 30 days on how to overhaul the fire control system and the SOPs to be followed, sources said. The first meeting of the task force suggested framing a new fire prevention and control policy.
