View of the COVID-19 ward that caught fire in an Ahmednagar hospital, Maharashtra, November 6, 2021. Photo: Reuters/Stringer
New Delhi: A tendency to cut corners, electrical problems and using combustible materials make government hospitals especially prone to fire hazards, an investigation by Scroll has found.
Over the past two years, several tragic fires have been reported at hospitals – raising concerns about the safety standards. Analysis by Scroll shows that since August 2020, 122 people have died in 29 incidents of major hospital fires across the country – more than one fire every month on average.
Among the major flaws identified by the news website is that in a bid to cut costs, governments always choose the lowest bidder – but these often “dilute specification on quality”.
While hospitals are categorised as C1 under the National Building Code of India – meaning they must have special infrastructural arrangements for fire safety – very few actually implement it. According to Scroll, hospitals must have “fire lifts for the fire brigade to use, fire alarms, smoke detectors on every floor, fire extinguishers and fire hydrants”. They also need to have smoke outlets and air inlets in basements.
“The National Building Code is comprehensive and detailed. But most hospitals don’t even follow it,” Manoj Choudhury the director of an architectural and construction firm, told Scroll. “It is ignorance towards safety norms that causes fire mishaps.”
The heavy electrical load in some wards, such as the intensive care unit, combined with their oxygen-rich environment also make hospitals prone to fire hazards. While the National Building Code mandates that electrical fittings and wirings must be sealed by non-combustible material in separate ducts, this is rarely the case, experts told Scroll.
Hospitals should not use combustible materials such as plaster of Paris on walls or false ceilings but should instead use fire-resistant resin sheets. The fire at Ahmednagar Civil Hospital, which resulted in the death of 14 persons in the ICU, was caused by the presence of combustible materials, Scroll reported.
Improper management of electrical loads is also a major cause of fires. A study, published in the International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health, found that 78% of the 33 hospital fires it looked at were started due to electrical problems – with air conditioners being “the most common source”.
Even in this case, ICUs are most prone to fires. When a ward is modified into an ICU, the wiring and supply also need to be modified to carry high loads, Scroll said.
This is often overlooked because there is a shortage of electrical staff. Engineers from a state government’s Public Works Department are responsible for the regular maintenance of a hospital’s infrastructure and electrical wiring. But these posts are often left vacant, Scroll found.
“There are three sanctioned posts for sectional engineer and one for deputy engineer,” said Jagdish Kale, the deputy electrical engineer of Ahmednagar district. “I am the only one permanently posted. Other two posts of sectional engineer are occupied by officials with additional charges.”
Doctors told Scroll that whenever there is a fire at a state-run hospital, the government takes action against them for “negligence” – even though the problem is systemic. In some cases, even after doctors had written to the officials concerned to increase the electrical load-bearing capacities of their wards, action was not taken.