BHUBANESWAR: After a fire accident at a Covid hospital in Ahmedabad claimed at least eight lives, DG Fire Services Satyajit Mohanty on Thursday directed the officers concerned to review fire safety arrangements at the facilities in Odisha where coronavirus infected patients are being admitted for treatment.
“We have directed our assistant and deputy fire officers to visit the COVID hospitals and COVID care centers (CCCs) under their respective jurisdictions and review the fire safety arrangements,” said Mohanty.
In case of any deficiency, the DG Fire Services has directed the officers to advise the in-charge of the Covid hospitals and CCCs to put in place the required fire safety facilities. There are over 35 Covid-19 hospitals and 178 CCCs in the State.
“We are expecting fire safety audits at COVID hospitals, CCCs and COVID care homes to be completed in the next 24 hours,” said Mohanty. The objective is to ask people in charge of the COVID facilities to
implement all fire safety measures and acquaint the fire officers with those buildings so that they can carry out operations swiftly in case of any emergency.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed his condolences over the tragic incident in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad earlier in the day.“Deeply saddened by the loss of lives in the fire accident in a COVID hospital in Ahmedabad. Wish the bereaved families have the courage to overcome the irreparable loss and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” he tweeted.