Centre To States: Review Fire Safety Measures At Hospitals, Nursing Homes

New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday directed all states and union territories (UTs) to conduct a detailed review of fire safety mechanism at hospitals and nursing homes to prevent fire incidents.

Over a dozen fire incidents in the last two months have claimed several lives, many of them at COVID facilities. The most recent tragedy resulted in the death of 18 COVID patients in a hospital. at Gujarat’s Bharuch.

“Given the recent fire incidents in the hospitals and particularly in view of the impending summer months, it needs to be highlighted that short-circuits take place, leading to fire incidents and loss of lives and infrastructure, either because of high temperature, lack of maintenance or high load on internal wirings within the facilities,” stated the notification issued by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla.

He further advised that care should be taken to put in place a plan of action which ensures there is no fire incident in any health facility, particularly those dedicated for COVID patients, both in the government and the private sector.

“The States and UTs have been requested to conduct a detailed review with officials from the Health, Power and Fire Departments, and prepare a detailed plan of action to ensure that fire safety measures are in place in all hospitals and health facilities,” a Home ministry spokesperson said.