In a bid to prevent a fire tragedy similar to the Vijayawada incident that claimed 10 innocent lives on Sunday, the Telangana State Disaster Response and Fire Services had in January made a proposal to establish fire stations in the premier state-run hospitals. These fire stations were to be built at Gandhi Hospital, Modern Government Maternity Hospital (MGM), Osmania General Hospital (OGH)and Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) — all of which house hundreds of patients.
However, eight months on, the plan has not made any significant progress. Barring two hospitals, fire stations at other hospitals remain only on paper.
On Sunday, 10 patients — three women and seven men — died in the fire accident at Hotel Swarna Palace, which was approved as a government-designated COVID care centre in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.
Speaking to TNM, K Madhusudhana Rao, Hyderabad District Fire Officer, said, “We were given a location in the Gandhi hospital to install a pipe unit, subsequently a shed was erected. But it is just an open shed. The facilities like a restroom, office room and a place for the crew to sleep is yet to be built. We had asked for another exit gate in the hospital, but the engineer had made a very low estimation, and the plan is yet to be realized.”
While initially the fire stations were supposed to be established in Gandhi Hospital, MGM, OGH and NIMS, the fire department later wanted to establish another station at Government Mental Care Centre (GMCC) in Erragadda.
At present, sheds have been erected in Gandhi, OGH and MGM hospitals, while the facility at Erragadda remains only on paper, according to the DFO. “The site in GMCC is yet to be identified by the hospital administration. Soon, we will establish units in Gandhi and MGM,” the DFO said.
Earlier this year, a high-level meeting was held in this regard with the former Chief Secretary of Health, A Santhi Kumari. The cost of each fire station with a fire engine and five personnel was estimated to be at around Rs 2 crore. Madhusudhana Rao said that each station was to be equipped with a five-member crew and a fire engine.
Meanwhile, in the wake of the fire accident in the neighbouring state, the Telangana Director of Public Health on Sunday warned the hotels in the state which have been housing COVID-19 patients, to follow all the fire-safety norms. “Any violation of fire-safety norms will be viewed seriously,” the circular read. In Telangana, 36 hotels have been designated as COVID care centres.