Detected Hole in fire safety tools at nursing homes and the subdivisional hospital in Kalimpong

Dec. 13: A team of civic officials and fire brigade personnel today detected violation of fire safety norms at four nursing homes and the subdivisional hospital in Kalimpong.

The inspections to ascertain the preparedness of the health centres to tackle accidental fire were carried out following the blaze at AMRI Hospitals in Calcutta. Around 90 patients were suffocated to death in the tragedy.

The loopholes in the fire safety systems at the hospitals in Kalimpong were noticed by the team that was made up of licence inspector of the civic body and health officials.

“Even fire extinguishers were not in order at the private hospitals. Although the nursing homes produced documents to show that the cylinders were serviced and in a working condition, a physical check suggested otherwise. The cylinders did not contain the liquids needed to fight fire,” said licence inspector Sanjay Pradhan.

He said those in charge of the clinics claimed that the fire extinguishers were serviced by a Calcutta-based company. “The documents also showed that all the cylinders were replenished in October and November.”

However, officials at the subdivisional hospital admitted that fire extinguishers were out of service. They told the team that the equipment could not be replenished with the fire-fighting liquid because of lack of funds.

The team asked all the health centres to get the fire extinguishers serviced in the presence of officials from the municipality and the fire brigade.

The Calcutta blaze has spurred the authorities into action elsewhere also.

In Raiganj, the fire service department asked the municipality not to pass the plan of any multi-storied building unless the application accompanies a fire safety certificate.

“According to rules, if a building has four floors or more, it is incumbent upon the developer to obtain fire safety certificate from the fire department. Such buildings should have at least two staircases, a water reservoir underground or overhead and a fire alarm system,” said Dipak Nandi, the fire protection officer of North Zone of the fire department.

Nandi said the department had held a meeting with the developers a year back. “At the meeting, we elaborated on the need to take fire safety measures. But the builders were not bothered to take the preventive measures and that is why we have written to the Raiganj municipality.”

Mohit Sengupta, the chairman of Raiganj municipality, said the multi-storied buildings would be inspected by the civic body. “A joint team of fire officers and representatives of the public works department and the power distribution company will be formed to check each building,” said Sengupta.

The Siliguri Municipal Corporation continued with its drive to crack down on hospitals that flouted fire safety norms. The civic officials visited some nursing homes today and asked them to relocate facilities like staff canteen and maintain the fire safety equipment.

“We will prepare a report on the status of each private nursing home in and around Siliguri and submit it to north Bengal development minister Gautam Deb in a fortnight,” said Maitrayee Chakraborty, the member, mayor-in-council of the SMC.

-The Telegraph