Only 329 hospitals in Karnataka follow fire safety rules
BENGALURU: A shocking fact has emerged that only 329 of all registered government and private hospitals in Karnataka have met fire safety standards, leading to big questions surrounding patient and staff safety. Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao replied to a question asked by Council member Dhananjay Sarji that only 14 of 2,878 government hospitals, and 315 of 5,850 private hospitals in the state have implemented fire safety measures.
According to the National Building Code, all hospitals in the state have to adopt uniform fire safety measures, but most do not.
Only 14 government and 315 private hospitals have met the criteria for fire safety approval. In reply, Gundu Rao said that in 2024 alone, three hospitals reported fire accidents, and a meeting was convened on it. Earlier, fire accidents were not given much attention.
When the information about the implementation of fire safety measures was taken to avoid future disasters, it was noticed that 2,864 government hospitals were not following proper fire safety measures. “It will cost around Rs 550 crore for fire safety clearance for government hospitals,” he said.