VISAKHAPATNAM: Even as Visakhapatnam has emerged as the health hub of the north coastal Andhra and neighbouring Odisha and Chhattisgarh, fire safety arrangements continue to be poor at a majority of the hospitals in the city, ringing alarm bells for the patients and their families. It is said many of the hospitals are deathtraps, in the absence of any fire-fighting mechanism or fire escape arrangements.About 300 private hospitals and clinics in the city are said to be highly prone to incidents like the one at AMRI Hospital in Kolkata which claimed the lives of more than 90 patients. In view of the abject disregard for fire safety norms, Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) authorities have decided to crack the whip.The GVMC will start a joint exercise with the fire department to assess fire prevention and safety mechanisms in all the hospitals in the city and will also be organising a meeting with the managements of various hospitals on Wednesday to discuss the fire safety issues. Station fire officer of GVMC’s fire prevention wing U Sarath Babu said out of the 300 hospitals and nursing homes in the city, around 20 come under large establishments category. He admitted that only less than 10 per cent of the hospitals have minimum fire safety mechanisms. Sources said some of the establishments do not even seek the mandatory No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the GVMC and the fire department to start operations. Some of the hospitals are extremely vulnerable to mishaps of the Kolkata kind not only on account of not adhering to safety rules, but also due to their location in narrow lanes, where fire tenders could not pass.Sarath Babu said the GVMC will seal the hospitals if managements continue to flout fire safety norms. He said those found violating the norms would be issued show-cause notices first and would be made liable for action under relevant laws. GVMC will start issuing notices after the review meeting on Wednesday and will give one month time to hospitals to comply with regulations.Several hospitals don’t have the ramp to shift patients to safety during a fire mishap. If a fire breaks out, what about those immobile patients undergoing treatment in intensive care units or trauma care units? So far, GVMC and the fire department had issued notices to around 80 hospitals in the city in July but none of them installed fire safety equipment yet. Fire officials noticed that there were no trained staff in the hospitals to tackle fire mishaps.According to rules, the hospitals should have elaborate mechanisms to facilitate easy movement and escape of patients in case of fire. There should be mandatory fire exits on every floor with wide stairways. Fire fighting equipment should be installed at every level. But many hospitals, including Care, Seven Hills, Queens NRI and Manipal, are crowded at any given time and if fire breaks out, the casualties could be very high.District fire officer SV Narasimham said fire safety remain the least priority for hospitals, commercial establishments and educational institutions despite repeated warnings and notices.Convener of the Forum for Better Visakha (FBV) EAS Sarma said unsafe buildings should have been closed by the authorities, but they have either been lax or colluding with building owners.People say the Kolkata incident should be an eye-opener to the district and GVMC officials. In fact, every multi-storied building should be put under the scanner, they say.
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