A little over one week after a fire that killed 10 newborns at a hospital in Bhandara district, Maharashtra, the city’s fire brigade is in the middle of audits of all public and private hospitals and nursing homes for compliance with safety regulations The audits are to go on for a month, after which notices for compliance of fire safety rules will be sent to the hospitals.

That seems logical on the face of it, though it is reactive rather than proactive. It should not take a tragedy of mega proportions to trigger such action. Audits and surprise checks for fire safety preparedness should be conducted regularly, notwithstanding accidents or incidents.