MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition seeking a direction to ensure strict adherence to fire safety guidelines in all hospitals in the state.
The litigant, KK Ramesh of Madurai, stated in his petition that in most of the hospitals, fire safety and control devices are installed merely to get the necessary permission to operate. There is no follow-up on whether the devices are functional or whether the staff are properly trained to use them, he added.
Due to indiscriminate usage of air conditioners, medical equipment and other machines in hospitals, there is a high risk of the electrical wires or circuits tripping and overloading, which are the common causes of fire accidents in hospitals, Ramesh stated. This, coupled with a lack of proper fire fighting infrastructure and non-adherence to safety norms, contribute to the majority of fire accidents reported in hospitals, he added, and cited some of the fire accidents that took place in hospitals across the country.
However, a bench comprising justices J Nisha Banu and S Srimathy observed that the petitioner ought to have been more specific in his allegations and dismissed the petition.