Lessons from Kolkata fire
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: December 15 2011 -

In one of the worst tragedy the country has seen, a fire in a Kolkata hospital (Amri Hospital) which broke out on December 9 claimed the lives of 90 people.

What is even more tragic is that most of those died were inpatients who had come to the hospital to get treated from various ailment hoping for a longer and healthier life but ironically, the place which was supposed to rid them of illness and diseases delivered them from life itself.

The fire is said to have broken out in the basement and poisonous fumes is said to have traveled through the air-conditioning system, and with the building largely windowless, victims died of asphyxia.

Two things stand out in this tragedy, the first being that the said hospital did not have adequate fire fighting system in place. This is not just surprising but shocking.

The callousness of the hospital management is all the more apparent considering the fact that the hospital is a multi specialty hospital which would suggest it should have had some of the most advanced and effective fire fighting system in place but sadly it was not so.

The patients trusted in the hospital management and the staff and believed they would be taken care of here but had to pay with their lives for this trust. The West Bengal government acted swiftly cancelling the licence of the hospital and bringing criminal charges against the six directors, including its director.

This, of course, was to be expected and they should be brought to justice for not paying enough attention to the safety of the patients.

But all said and done this is a classic case of closing the stable door after the horses have bolted.

Another thing which became very clear was that the hospital staff was not trained for such an eventuality and instead of trying to evacuate the patients was only worried about their own safety, except for two brave nurses who paid with their lives.

In view of this unfortunate accident, the Health Secretary Government of India is reported to have instructed all directors and medical superintendents of premier government hospitals to conduct fire audits and mock drills immediately and submit a report within a week. This is a welcome and much needed step.

In fact, going beyond this, the Union government as well as the state governments should put in place a system of reviewing fire and other safety measures in hospitals periodically.

In Manipur also, it is reported that the government is set to review the fire safety measures in both JNIMS and RIMS as also in all the private hospitals. This again is a step in the right direction.

But it is important that the review is carried out comprehensively and with sincerity. As with most things in Manipur, let's not do the review on papers, for here we are dealing with lives of people.

Learning from the experience of the Amri Hospital tragedy, it is also absolutely necessary to prepare the staff of the hospitals by giving them adequate training for such an eventuality.

Also, it would not be wise to limit our preparedness to just hospital, we must also pay attention to other vulnerable public places, like schools, cinema houses, the buildings in the crowded Paona Bazar and Thangal Bazar.

The public in general and those responsible for running public institutions should also do a self review without waiting for the government to crack the whip.

And of course the government officials responsible for ensuring fire safety should keep in mind that lives of people are on line, there should not be any compromise on this count.

Let us take all possible precautions. Let us err on the side of caution rather than be caught in a tragedy like that of the Amri Hospital.