MHA asks states, UTs to conduct fire safety review of hospitals, nursing homes

Fire at a hospital in Virar on April 23.

The Home Ministry has asked states and union territories to carry out a detailed fire safety review of hospitals and nursing homes to prevent fire incidents, an official spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla has written to state chief secretaries and UT administrators, asking them to ensure fire safety measures, particularly in view of the summer season.

Given the recent fire incidents in hospitals and particularly in view of the impending summer, it needs to be highlighted that short circuiting takes place, leading to fire incidents and loss of life and infrastructure, either because of high temperature, lack of maintenance or high load on internal wirings within the facilities, the Home secretary said.

According to the communication, care should be taken to put in place a plan of action to ensure there is no fire incident in any health facility, particularly Covid-19 dedicated facilities, both in the government and the private sector, the spokesperson said.

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