New Delhi: The Home Ministry has asked states and union territories to carry out a detailed fire safety review of hospitals and nursing homes to prevent fire incidents, an official spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla has written to state chief secretaries and UT administrators, asking them to ensure fire safety measures, particularly in view of the summer season.
Given the recent fire incidents in hospitals and particularly in view of the impending summer, it needs to be highlighted that short circuiting takes place, leading to fire incidents and loss of life and infrastructure, either because of high temperature, lack of maintenance or high load on internal wirings within the facilities, the Home secretary said.
According to the communication, care should be taken to put in place a plan of action to ensure there is no fire incident in any health facility, particularly COVID-19 dedicated facilities, both in the government and the private sector, the spokesperson said.
The communication further states that care should be taken to put in place a plan of action, to ensure that no fire incident occurs in any of the health facilities (particularly COVID-19 dedicated facilities) both in the government and 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.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has also drawn attention to the recently issued advisory of the Director General (Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards), MHA on fire safety in hospitals and nursing homes.
The communication also highlights that a large number of COVID-19 cases are under treatment in COVID-dedicated health facilities across the country. In most of the cases, oxygen supported beds, ICU beds, and ventilators are critical interventions, and therefore, it is important to ensure that there is uninterrupted power supply on regular 24×7 basis, in all the hospitals and medical facilities.