SHIMLA: A Kolkata-like tragedy seems to be waiting to happen in Himachal Pradesh hospitals with fire safety norms being flouted impudently and authorities turning a blind eye towards the reality. During any emergency-like situation, hospitals are sure to witness stampede as there is no proper arrangement for emergency exits. State capital Shimla is no stranger to fire tragedies in hospitals. The Walker Military Hospital in the city was destroyed due to fire on December 22, 1998. Fire struck the hospital at midnight and it was reduced to ashes as the blaze spread quickly, leaving little to be salvaged. Fire officials and hospital authorities appear to be passing the buck on each other and preparedness for such incidents is abysmally low. State chief fire officer M S Shonkla said, "Though there is no provision for issuing notices to hospitals flouting fire safety norms, we do conduct random inspections in hospitals and provide recommendations to those government and private hospitals which apply for inspection. We have also been providing training in fire-fighting systems in hospitals." With majority of structures in the state made of wood, lack of open spaces, emergency exits, signboards, space for fire tenders, proper evacuation paths, lack of wide staircases and ramps can lead to stampede in such emergencies and lack of trained staff within hospitals to handle such emergencies further raises the risk of such incidents. Director, health department, D S Chandel, said "We have issued orders that fire extinguishers be installed in all the government hospitals. Fire censors will also be installed in all the hospitals, besides creating alternative exits in all the structures possible." Except for fire hydrants, majority of fire safety measures are non-existent in the hospitals here and wooden structures in Ripon hospital, narrow stairs, lack of open space and partial wooden structures in KNH hospital exposes them to risk of fire incidents. Project support associate in Shimla for UNDP and GOI Disaster Risk Reduction Programme, Ekta Bartaya, said, "Disaster risk preparedness in Shimla is abysmally low, be it any kind of natural disasters or any fire incident. No basic framework or guidelines exist with the fire department for preventive measures in case of any untoward incident in hospitals and buildings here." She added, "Availability of fire extinguishers or hydrants is not the only solution. The staff should be trained to deal with such emergencies, besides there is no provision of signboards for emergency exits, evacuation pathways and other facilities in the hospitals here." Deputy MS of Indira Gandhi Medical College, Dr Ramesh Chand, said, "The old wooden structure here was destroyed in fire. The new structures have fire extinguishers, ramps, wide staircases, evacuation corridors exits and we also provide training to our staff for handling such incidents." However, he admitted that risks loom large in structures where large a number of people are houses. Though the government and private hospitals of Kullu-Manali are equipped with fire-fighting equipment, each of them lacks basic security systems. The most trusted hospital in Manali, Lady Willingdon hospital, which serves 39,000 patients in a year, has learnt from a past fire that broke out in its library three years ago. Now the hospital has installed fire hydrants and extinguishers and imparted its staff emergency rescue trainings. Chief surgeon Dr Philip Alexander said they have a plan to build a new hospital building with very modern safety equipment. Kullu chief medical officer Ramesh Mehta said the civil hospitals in Kullu and Manali, which offer treatment to more than 1,000 patients every day, have fire-fighting equipment and home guard personnel to take care of any untoward incidents. However, a visit to the hospital revealed that there were no emergency exits. |
