MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday sought response from the state government on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a direction to ensure strict adherence of fire safety guidelines in all hospitals across the state.
The litigant, KK Ramesh of Madurai, stated that in most hospitals, fire safety and control devices are installed merely to get necessary permission to begin operations. There is no follow-up to check whether the devices are functional, and staff are not properly trained to use them, he said.
Due to indiscriminate usage of air conditioners, medical equipment and other machines in hospitals, there is a high risk of electrical wires or circuits tripping and overloading, which are 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 majority of fire accidents in hospitals, he added. He also cited some of the fire accidents at hospitals across the country and discrepancies in basic facilities in Tamil Nadu hospitals.
He requested the court to issue a series of directions to the union government to instruct the state government to ensure proper compliance of fire safety norms in Tamil Nadu hospitals. Each ward should contain an alternative emergency exit door and staff should be given adequate training, he added.
A bench comprising Justices MS Ramesh and AD Maria Clete issued notice to the authorities concerned and directed them to file a counter affidavit. The case was adjourned to February 20.