Editorial: Playing with fire

The unfailing regularity with which fire mishaps occur in hospitals across India reflects a disturbing sense of callousness that has come to characterise the country’s healthcare administration. Safety standards are observed more in the breach than in practice. The recent string of tragedies — a fire in the neonatal ward of a hospital in Bhopal […]

The unfailing regularity with which fire mishaps occur in hospitals across India reflects a disturbing sense of callousness that has come to characterise the country’s healthcare administration. Safety standards are observed more in the breach than in practice. The recent string of tragedies — a fire in the neonatal ward of a hospital in Bhopal claiming the lives of four infants and a blaze in the Covid-19 ICU ward in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar killing 11 patients — is yet another grim reminder of the pathetic state of affairs in hospitals, particularly those in the government sector. In Maharashtra alone, there have been six instances of fire accidents in ten months resulting in the death of 55 patients. All these are undoubtedly man-made disasters. Several recommendations on safety protocols, made by expert committees from time to time, largely remain on paper. Even the directions by the Supreme Court in this regard are not being followed. Hospital ICUs pose a greater fire risk because they are oxygen-suffused, and need to meet high standards. Most hospitals in the country don’t have effective fire response systems nor do they have designated fire officers to tackle emergency situations. After the fire mishap that killed five Covid patients at a hospital in Rajkot, Gujarat, in November last year, the apex court had taken up the matter suo motu and issued directions to the government to appoint nodal officers in all designated Covid-19 hospitals, carry out fire audit and to make it mandatory for these hospitals to obtain a no-objection certificate from the fire department. But, there has been no improvement in the situation.

The apex court, which also went through affidavits filed by the State governments over the issue, said some measures have been taken to handle the shortcomings at medical facilities but more audits and inspections were required to be taken. Despite all the directions, advisories and expert committee recommendations, history keeps repeating itself. A team of independent researchers had examined 33 fires during 2010-20 in Indian hospitals with over 100 in-patient beds and found that four out of five cases were caused by electrical short circuits, with the air-conditioner being the major culprit. This happens because the ageing and overburdened infrastructure, especially the wiring, is unable to bear the load of heavy-duty hospital gadgets when most of them are used at once. Hospitals need to be careful about the storage of flammable materials. The 2011 AMRI hospital fire in Kolkata, where 93 perished, originated in a short circuit and fed on combustible substances illegally stocked in the basement parking. All the stakeholders — builders, hospital managements, civic and fire authorities, approvers and auditors — must share the culpability. There is a need for all the States and Union Territories to carry out regular inspections of hospitals and nursing homes to ensure strict compliance with the implementation of fire safety measures.

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