BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Fire Services Department on Friday conducted simultaneous inspection at private hospitals and clinical establishments to check violations and ensure implementation of fire prevention and safety measures on their premises. The surprise inspection was carried out at 27 establishments in Nayagarh, Jagatsinghpur and Dhenkanal districts.
About three teams comprising 10 fire personnel and a senior officer each carried out the inspections in the three districts. “According to Odisha Fire Safety and Fire Prevention rules, 2017, different categories of buildings must be equipped with fire safety systems. But, the hospitals and the clinical establishments are either unaware about the rules or are negligent which is eventually risking the lives of the patients,” Director General of Fire Services and Commandant General (home guards) and Director of Civil Defence, Cuttack, Bijay Kumar Sharma told The Express.
“In Cuttack and Bhubaneswar there is some level of awareness among the authorities concerned, but in smaller towns violations are high for which we decided to check and educate the officials on the necessity of installing fire safety equipment,” Sharma said.The teams found that barely one or two health care centres had installed the equipment while several others did not even possess the required fire fighting arrangements. Most of the establishments did not have approval from planning body either, Sharma pointed out.
“They have been some time to install the required equipment and if they fail to comply within the specified time, legal action would be initiated, including sealing the buildings,” Sharma said.
The department is planning to hold a workshop on ‘hospital fire’ in February by involving all hospitals having more than 100 beds, he added.
According to Odisha Fire Safety and Fire Prevention Rules, 2017, which came into force on October 4, fire personnel can conduct inspection at different establishments to check the fire safety measures and initiate legal action in case of any non-compliance of norms.