{"id":59713,"date":"2024-05-27T07:43:23","date_gmt":"2024-05-27T07:43:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/27\/over-66-fires-in-2-years-why-delhis-hospital-safety-measures-arent-enough-to-prevent-loss-of-life\/"},"modified":"2024-05-27T07:43:23","modified_gmt":"2024-05-27T07:43:23","slug":"over-66-fires-in-2-years-why-delhis-hospital-safety-measures-arent-enough-to-prevent-loss-of-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/27\/over-66-fires-in-2-years-why-delhis-hospital-safety-measures-arent-enough-to-prevent-loss-of-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Over 66 fires in 2 years: Why Delhi’s hospital safety measures aren’t enough to prevent loss of life"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Delhi has reported 66 hospital fire incidents<\/a> over the last two years, with 30 cases in 2022 and 36 in the previous year, according to the Times of India (TOI). The most recent fire on February 26 at Nayak Hospital<\/a> in central Delhi led to the evacuation<\/a> of over 50 individuals, highlighting the strain these incidents place on firefighters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rising Incidents and Firefighter Challenges<\/h3>\n

Atul Garg, director of Delhi Fire Service<\/a>, described hospital fires<\/a> as one of the most demanding challenges faced by their department. “Responding to hospital fires requires additional personnel and time to evacuate patients<\/a> while simultaneously fighting the flames,” he told TOI. The presence of patients with varying levels of mobility complicates the evacuation process, necessitating tailored emergency plans<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Evacuating Patients: A Complex Task<\/h3>\n

In past incidents, firefighters had to rescue<\/a> 20 infants from a newborn hospital in Dwarka and evacuate over 100 patients from an endoscopy unit at AIIMS<\/a>. Fire officials emphasized the difficulties in evacuating patients, especially in children\u2019s hospitals. “Unlike typical fire rescues, firefighters cannot use ladders or physically lift people. This necessitates careful planning between staff and responders to ensure patient safety throughout the evacuation, prioritizing well-being and minimizing harm,” said Garg.<\/p>\n

Infrastructure Shortcomings<\/h3>\n

Many hospitals in Delhi have inadequate arrangements, including the need for wider staircases. When hospitals apply for a non-objection certificate from the fire department, they are instructed to build staircases with a larger width to facilitate the easy evacuation of patients on stretchers during a rescue.<\/p>\n

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Importance of Compartmentation and Smoke Evacuation<\/h3>\n

<\/strong>Compartmentation on every hospital floor allows for the swift relocation of patients in an emergency. “During a fire, they have five to six minutes to rescue the trapped people. So, there is a need for compartmentation,” a fire official explained to TOI. Compartmentation<\/a> involves dividing a building into separate sections using fire-resistant materials. Additionally, proper smoke evacuation<\/a> passages are essential to remove smoke buildup during fire incidents, ensuring safer evacuation routes.<\/p>\n

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TOI.in<\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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What happened at the East Delhi neonatal hospital?<\/h3>\n

A fire at a private neonatal hospital in east Delhi’s Vivek Vihar area resulted in the deaths of seven newborns and injuries to five others. Police confirmed on Monday that the bodies of five of the deceased have been handed over to their families after post-mortem examinations, while the remaining two will be released following autopsies.<\/p>\n

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What caused the fire?<\/h4>\n

<\/strong>The hospital, operating despite its expired license, also lacked qualified doctors and did not have clearance from the Fire department. This lapse in safety and regulatory compliance has raised serious concerns about the hospital’s operations and management.<\/p>\n

An officer mentioned that one of the newborns was claimed to have died hours before the fire, a fact that will be verified after the autopsy. Forensic teams and an inspector from the Electricity department are scheduled to visit the site on Monday to determine the exact cause of the fire. The investigation aims to uncover any potential negligence or malpractice that led to this tragic event.<\/p>\n

What action has the police taken?<\/h4>\n

<\/strong>Police have arrested Dr. Naveen Khichi, the hospital’s owner, and Dr. Aaksh, who was on duty when the fire broke out late on Saturday. Both will be presented in a Karkardoma court, where police may seek custody for further interrogation.<\/p>\n

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Ongoing Concerns<\/h4>\n

<\/strong>The incident has highlighted significant gaps in hospital safety regulations and enforcement. The illegal operation of the hospital and lack of proper safety measures have underscored the urgent need for stricter compliance and monitoring to prevent such tragedies in the future.<\/p>\n

(With inputs from TOI, ANI)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Delhi has reported 66 hospital fire incidents over the last two years, with 30 cases in 2022 and 36 in the previous year, according to the Times of India (TOI). The most recent fire on February 26 at Nayak Hospital in central Delhi led to the evacuation of over 50 individuals, highlighting the strain these […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img.etimg.com\/photo\/msid-42031747\/et-logo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[602],"tags":[18472,1165,58006,36004,57548,22430,58005,23146,58003,58007,33672,5903,180,58004,76,6859,10838,58009,9164,3100,4258,7301,58008,111],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59713"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59713"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59715,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59713\/revisions\/59715"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}