JAMSHEDPUR: Barely 14 healthcare centres of the over 80 in Steel City and adjoining Adityapur have proper firefighting systems, a fire department official said here on Saturday in the wake of the deadly fire mishap at a hospital in Dhanbad.
Talking to TOI, Golmuri fire station officer Budhnath Oraon said, "Those 14 healthcare centres are the prominent hospitals and nursing homes. Twenty-four hospitals and nursing homes have applied for the No Objection Certificate (NOC) in the past year. But there is a need for better implementation of fire safety norms."
He further said the number of healthcare centres equipped with the fire fighting system is dismal, but the fire office cannot force them to install the system. "We can only advise the hospitals and nursing homes to install the system at the earliest and the district administration or the civic body concerned has to enforce it," Oraon said.
The East Singhbhum chief medical officer, Jujhar Majhi, said only big healthcare centres like the Tata Main Hospital (TMH), Tata Motors Hospital (Telco hospital), Tinplate hospital, Brahmamanda Narayan Multispeciality Hospital, Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical Hospital (MGMMCH) and Jamshedpur Sadar Hospital have the fire control system. Stressing that the other centres will be asked to install the system, Majhi said, "Under the Clinical Establishment Act, we can seek the fire safety NOC from the healthcare centres. We will issue notices to such hospitals and nursing homes soon."
He said a joint team of the fire department and health department officials will conduct fire safety audits of all the healthcare centres in the district. "The Dhanbad incident is an eye-opener for all of us," Majhi added.
Notably, two separate incidents of fire mishaps involving hospitals have been reported in the industrial town in the recent past. The dialysis ward at the government-run MGMMCH reported a fire on April 23, 2022. A similar incident was reported form the children's ward of the TMH on March 23, 2000.
A noted entrepreneur of the city, who also runs a leading nursing home in Adityapur, said a key reason behind the nursing home proprietors not installing the fire safety systems is the huge cost.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.
Start a Conversation
Post comment