Fire safety lapses found at Kota hospitals after Jaipur blaze kills six

Kota (Rajasthan), Oct 6 (PTI) The Kota Municipal Corporation on Monday carried out an inspection at the Maharao Bhim Singh Hospital and JK Lone Hospital, along with other private institutions, and found lapses in the fire safety and control system, officials said.

This comes after a massive fire blazed through the neuro ICU of Jaipur's state-run Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital on Sunday night, killing six patients on critical care support.

During the inspection, the officials found that these medical institutions have safety and control equipment in place, but their control panels, alarm systems, smoke detectors and manual call points are not working, Fire Officer Azhar Khan told PTI.

The officials visited MBS hospital's old building, which accommodates emergency, trauma, neuro, ortho wards and part of the OPD.

Notably, MBS hospital witnesses a footfall of around 10,000 people, including 4,000 in the OPD. Patients from Bundi, Baran, Jhalawar and adjoining cities in Madhya Pradesh also visit MBS Hospital for better treatment and health facilities.

The fire officer said that hospital staff trained in fire safety and control management are also not available in the hospital at all times. While the smoke detectors in the hospital were switched off to accommodate the smoking habits of the attendants of the patients.

The hose pipes are placed in drums at required points in the hospital, but they are not attached to water tanks properly, he said. The fire safety team also noted the absence of a fire control room in the hospital and recommended setting it up in the same hospital building.

The fire safety team has recommended that the superintendent of the hospital make the required improvements and upgrade the fire safety and control management.

IPD and OPD are functional in the newly constructed building of MBS hospital, which is well equipped with fire safety and control equipment, he added.

However, the Superintendent at MBS Hospital, Dr Dharmraj Meena, said that there are 92 fire extinguishers placed at various wards in the hospital and all hose pipes are in working order.

The nursing staff of emergency and ICU wards have undergone training for fire safety, he claimed.

Vishnu Sahu, nursing staff in the ward, claimed there were three fire extinguishers; two were sent for refilling.

The fire officer said that after the due inspection in the hospitals, the management has been directed to comply with the recommendations within seven days. PTI COR HIG HIG