On Saturday, when fire broke out at the Hospital, only one of the 10 fire extinguishers was put to use. The power room attached to the cath lab had no fire equipment.
At the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital— Asia’s largest public hospital—there are 500 fire extinguishers around the campus, say authorities. The hospital, which was rocked by bomb blasts in July 2008, carried out its last security drill in January 2009, said Hospital Superintendent Dr M M Prabhakar.
Fire officials said the construction plan of most government hospitals have the fire safety element missing.
V N Patel, Industrial Safety Officer, Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA) said, “Every year, all industries have to submit their disaster management plan, which is coordinated by the district collector.”
The Gujarat state director of health, P V Dave, said: “The Civil Hospital is supposed to conduct mock drills six times a year. But I cannot comment on this as I don’t handle the issue.”
Old wiring a worry in Rajkot Civil Hospital
A senior official at the Rajkot Civil Hospital said that while there is no dearth of resources, the electric fittings as also the equipment are old and are not properly maintained, which can lead to fires. The fittings are often unchecked, which is dangerous.
Rajkot Civil Hospital Superintendent B D Desmukh said: “The hospital is well-equipped with fire fighting equipment, both foam and water-based. There are 10 staffers trained in fire safety measures. But more than the fire fighting equipment, the electrical fittings call for immediate attention.”
He added: “What is needed is a regular check-up of the entire fittings in the old hospital building. If ignored, these can lead to short-circuit and fire.”
The Rajkot Civil Hospital has 470 beds in total; the other three hospitals in the campus: G T Sheth Eye Hospital, K T Children Hospital and R Z Women Hospital have capacities of 100, 160 and 120 beds each.
The hospital authorities maintained that they have adequate safety equipment for each hospital. “Fire fighting equipment are checked regularly to ensure that they are in working condition. Replacements are brought in whenever required,” Deshmukh said.
Medical waste burnt in open at SSG Hospital
With close circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed around Sir Sayajirao General Hospital, it appears that the premises are safe from disasters. Leaving aside the Out Patient Department (OPD) in the hospital, the general wards do not have necessary fire fighting equipment.
Authorities have claimed that there is sufficient fire fighting equipment in the hospital, including special sprinklers in the Intensive Care Units (ICUs). But on Sunday, a large amount of hospital waste was burnt in the premises, which the authorities claimed was routine.
“We have fire fighting equipment at par with specialty hospitals. We recently conducted a security drill for a disaster management workshop,” said an official. But it was found that ward no 13, the Paediatric section and the OPD have only two fire extinguishers.
New fire safety system soon in Surat Civil Hospital
The work of setting up fire safety water lines in the New Civil Hospital is under progress for the last seven months, and will take a couple of months more to complete. Authorities claim to have over 50 fire extinguishers to overcome any emergency, but sources said many wards lack fire fighting equipment.
Hospital Superintendent Dr M K Wadhel said: “Work on the installation of the new system is in the last stage. The lines have been fixed outside the wards, but the work of setting up a water tank with a connection is not complete.”
Approximately 2,000 patients are treated in the hospital everyday, who come from different villages in Surat, Tapi, Navsari, Dangs and Ankleshwar
