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A decrepit room on the ground floor of the surgical ward is lined with oxygen cylinders, but has no fire extinguisher
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FIRE ALARMS & WATER SPRINKLERS
A fire alarm uses a smoke sensor to announce an emergency and prompt evacuation or rescue, while a sprinkler system is triggered by the alarm to douse the blaze.
MGM never had any of these since its inception 50 years ago. “None of the four wards ever had smoke sensors or sprinklers. No proposal has been sent to the health department either,” admitted hospital superintendent S.S. Prasad
EMERGENCY EXITS & RAMPS
Every high-rise is required to have fire stairs, while hospitals must have ramps to wheel away immobile patients in case of exigencies.
Government-run MGM has a main entrance, around 12ft wide, to its 20-acre premises and a back gate 4ft wide. The main door of the four-storey main building that houses maximum number of patients is barely 4ft wide, while all windows are grilled in gross violation of national hospital building laws. There are no fire stairs or ramp. The hospital boasts many a lift, which unfortunately are of no help in case of a blaze.
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| Beds encroach upon corridor space at the emergency ward |
“We are planning to widen the narrow alley at the back so that fire tenders can enter from both sides in case of an emergency. The proposal was sent to the health department last week. We have no ramps and only one staircase linking the four wards. But we have lifts at the multi-storied surgical, emergency and gynaecology wards,” Prasad said
CARBON DIOXIDE FLOODING SYSTEM
A compact system of piping and carbon dioxide cylinders specifically intended to extinguish fires that may arise out of electric panels.
MGM once had the provision of installing fire extinguishers, two of them foam-based, at the orthopaedic and gynaecology wards, emergency and ICU units. “But for two years now, we have no fire extinguishers because they could not be refilled or inspected for want of funds,” the MGM superintendent said
FIRE TEAM
A crucial human factor that often determines casualties in case of a large blaze. Security personnel and a section of hospital employees need to be trained in handling fire gear.
No employee of MGM has any idea how to handle a fire emergency. Fire drills were never conducted. “We act on advice from the health department. Drills, training, et al require funds. Where is the money?” Prasad said
HAZARD UNITS
A hospital building housing patients should be separate from the one having pharmacy, canteen etc.
The pharmacy, a potential fire threat, is located in the new OPD unit. It is 50 metres away from the administrative building and emergency unit and 100 metres from the other four wards (orthopaedic, surgical, general medicine and gynaecology). The transformer is also located at a good distance. However, the canteen is located in the basement of the gynaecology ward and uses stoves and LPG cylinders
FIRE CLEARANCE
Jharkhand has no fire law and is governed by the Bihar Fire Services Act of 1948. It is a two-page act that doesn’t talk in detail about a no-objection certificate (NOC). However, the national fire advisory committee says renewal of NOC is mandatory every year for any establishment that requires fire clearance, and the fire and emergency department must issue it. A team from the department must visit premises concerned before renewing the NOC for another year.
“MGM has never applied for fire clearance. In fact, none of the hospitals in Jamshedpur has so far,” said Mahanand Singh, fire safety officer, East Singhbhum
CONSOLATION
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| The gynaecology ward, which has one water tank exclusively to fight fire |
Distance hope
According to the Centre’s fire advisory committee recommendations, a hospital shouldn’t be more than a few minutes away from a fire station in urban areas. It should be within a 5km radius in urban pockets and within 15km in rural areas.
The nearest fire station to MGM is in Golmuri, just 4km away. Fire tenders can reach the hospital in 15 minutes.
Water tank
Every hospital should have separate supply of water to tame blazes
MGM has three 700-litre tanks to fight fire. They are located at the gynaecology ward, blood bank and administrative building.
WHAT THE STATE GOVERNMENT SAYS
State health director Praveen Chandra said that it was the duty of a hospital superintendent to requisition facilities to deal with fires. “We can release funds for gear and training only after a formal request,” he said, adding that they might even showcause the MGM superintendent for dereliction of duty
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