Nagpur: An inspection audit carried out by NMC’s fire and emergency services department has shown that less than 50% of hospitals in the city adhere to fire-safety norms. To prioritize strict enforcement, the department directed concerned government departments, including OCWL and MSEDCL, to disconnect water and power supply to 41 buildings (in accordance with section C of the Act). The department also filed criminal cases against four hospitals under Section 36 of the Act and instructed the police department to take the required action. An official involved in the audit said that most violations were related to insufficient fire-safety infrastructure, especially emergency exits and blatant violation of sanctioned building plan. Another serious violation is that many private hospitals allegedly operate from residential premises. Lack of emergency exits apart, these hospitals also misuse parking areas. On April 1, NMC’s Dharampeth zone issued a show-cause notice to the Dhantoli-based private hospital for unauthorized construction of its radiology section and asked it to demolish the same. Deputy municipal commissioner Prakash Warade, who is also in charge of Dharampeth zone, informed TOI that illegal constructions galore at the hospital. The zone has already issued a show-cause notice to the hospital, asking it to demolish 663,188 sqm of illegal construction. In 2022, we had sealed a multi-storey building on West High Court Road for lack of firefighting equipment, officials said. VHA convenor Dr Marar highlighted the challenges faced by healthcare facilities after hospitals are declared unsafe and issued the “threat” of power and water supply disconnection.“Hospitals particularly those located in common buildings (which have residential apartments) but given approval as per existing fire safety norms earlier, now find it challenging to add dedicated fire sumps to meet the new requirement,” Dr Marar said.Authorities should put up a public notice quoting relevant clauses in front of non-compliant hospitals to inform people about the lack of adherence to fire-safety norms, Dr Marar suggested.He also advocated for providing a reasonable timeline for hospitals, especially those in individual buildings , to make the necessary adjustments. For healthcare facilities in common commercial or residential buildings, he proposed to have a shared dedicated sump, with the NMC asking the entire building to have appropriate arrangements in place. “The creation of dedicated fire sumps can also lead to unnecessary storage of drinking water. It would be better to revisit the old concept of common fire hydrants by the roadside powered by a common supply by NMC wherein recycled water can be used for fire-fighting purposes. This would not only optimize use of water resources but also provide a more sustainable solution for the affected healthcare institutions,” he said.
