Govind Sharma
JAMMU, Jan 11: It is hard to believe that the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Jammu, where people from various districts of Jammu Division go to save their lives from critical diseases and accidental injuries can put them at risk, as the hospital even does not have basic fire safety measures in place.
It is shocking but true that the GMCH does not have a single firefighting equipment in the wards. What to say of wards even vital sections of the hospital like medical record section lack these fire fighting equipments. Perhaps, the authorities concerned are waiting for a big tragedy to strike putting the lives of patients in the hospital, as they seem less concerned about it and are yet to take lesson from recent fire that broke out near ward No 1 and 2.
According to the sources, on the name of safety norms there are only some fire extinguishers and few sprinklers installed in some sections of the building while hose reel, automatic smoke detector, underground fire water sump, and other facilities are totally missing.
“A few fire extinguishers which have been installed in some sections like Operation Theatre and Emergency Section are being used beyond the expiry date and are not equipped to deal with an exigency”, they added.
According to an official of the Fire Department, as per the Government’s guidelines, schools, markets, Government establishments and hospitals have to adhere to fire safety measures and they cannot flout the norms. “Fires can be devastating, especially in a hospital where a large number of people who need to be evacuated may be vulnerable – immuno compromised, on life support, and incapable of moving on their own”, he added.
When contacted, Medical Superintendent, GMCH, Dr Ravinder Ratanpal, admitted that the wards of the hospital does not have fire extinguishers and only few sensitive sections of the hospital have this facility.
On other safety norms like fire hydrants, hose reel system, automatic smoke detector, underground fire water sump and fire alarm system, he said, “The old block of the hospital does not have these facilities except underground fire water sump as at the time of its construction these fire safety norms were not introduced. However, in the new block of the hospital, we have all these facilities including fire hydrants, hose reel system, water sprinklers system, smoke detectors and fire alarm system.
When asked whether they have trained staff to operate these fire safety equipments, he said that their security staff is capable of operating these equipments, as they were provided training to handle these equipments once or twice a year.
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