Explained: Why Tragedies Like Bharuch Hospital Fire Occur Regularly And What We Can Do

Early hours of today morning (1 May), a fire broke out in at a hospital in Gujarat's Bharuch, killing at least 18 persons, including 16 Covid-19 patients and two nurses.

Gruesome visuals showing the remains of some patients on stretchers and beds were shared on social media.

Reportedly, there were around 27 patients in the ICU ward at the time of the fire, some on ventilators. The fire broke out at around 1 am on Saturday night, and the locals broke the glass windows and rescued the remaining patients.

Fire tenders also reached immediately and controlled the blaze within half-an-hour.

Gujarat chief minister (CM) Vijay Rupani announced an ex-gratia aid of Rs 4 lakh to each of the next of kin of the victims from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.

The tragedy comes just two days after a fire in a hospital in Thane, Maharashtra, killed at least four persons including a senior citizen; and just five days before this, at least 13 patients suffocated to death and several others were injured in a massive fire that broke out in a Covid hospital in Virar, Maharashtra. Last August, a fire at a private hospital in Ahmedabad, a COVID facility, left 8 persons dead. In this case, it was found that the hospital was operating without fire clearance.

Hospital fires are by no means an exceptional occurrence in India. Recent, back to back hospital fire tragedies brought back the memories of the 2011 AMRI Hospital fire in Dhakuria, Calcutta that claimed the lives of 89 persons.

According to a 195-nation analysis by Global Diseases Burden published in The BMJ Injury Prevention journal, every fifth fire-related death in the world took place in India.

In 2017, India saw 16 lakh incidents of fire (around 18 per cent of the world-wide tally) with over 27,000 deaths. Indian casualty figures were 2.5 times that of China.

The study noted that kids under five and adults above 60 are the biggest fire victims. Reportedly, a similar trend is increasingly visible in India, a shift from the past when young women used to comprise a majority of burn victims.

In India, fire-related deaths decreased by around 30 per cent between 1990 and 2017.

The study was carried out by IHME, an independent research organisation at the University of Washington.

The challenges related to the fire can be divided into three categories - prevention, fire fighting, and victim rehabilitation.

Prevention

Fire not only claims the lives of innocent people, but also causes injuries that are serious and potentially life-altering. Therefore, prevention of fire accidents is the best cure.

The National Building Code of India, 2016 covers the requirements for fire prevention, life safety in relation to fire and fire protection of buildings.

The regulations consist of those regarding design and construction; building materials; occupancy features necessary to minimise danger to life from fire, smoke; equipment and installations meant for fire protection; guidelines for fire drills and evacuations; etc.

According to the Model Building Bylaws, 2003, the building plans have to be referred to the Chief Fire Officer for obtaining clearance in respect of buildings. All eligible buildings need to undertake necessary approval of the Completion certificate.

Unfortunately, like road safety, fire safety continues to remain on paper. Unplanned construction in densely populated areas remains the biggest threat of fire disaster.

Only 30 per cent of the cities in India have a fire master plan, and even that is very likely to be outdated.

We require a zero tolerance enforcement of the safety requirements.

To avoid opportunities of corruption, license raj, the government can use digital technologies to ensure compliance. For example, LIDAR based technology can keep a track of building designs, safety exits etc.

Another step required is fixing accountability of owners, managers, builders as well as government agencies etc. when found guilty of breaking the rules. A strong law of torts, efficient judicial process for swift criminal justice is required.

Mandating compulsory insurance for all public buildings against fire risk and public liability can make the builders and owners more careful about the question of safety, since a high-risk design, non-compliance with building plans would increase the insurance costs.

Mandatory fire safety audit of public buildings, comprehensive hazard identification and rick assessment, and regular fire drills are a must.

Fire fighting

Fire services in India come under the 12th schedule of the Constitution - the domain of municipalities. State government’s home ministry and the urban local body are primarily responsible for fire safety and fire fighting services in an area.

A union home affairs ministry-sponsored study found out that there is a 65 per cent shortage of fire stations in the country. There is also a lack of equipment and proper training.

Assessing a fire professionally is also important. Such assessment provides important insights. For example, traces of an accelerant might indicate that the fire was deliberately ignited by someone.

Professional assessment of the fires led to the catching of Paul Kenneth Keller, a serial arsonist, who set over a 100 fires within six months in Washington.

Professional assessment of fire can also generate better solutions for fire-fighting and fire-safety.

Burn victims

India has inadequate health facilities to deal with the burn victims.

Each time a burn victim needs her bandages changes, six personnel are required. But the government hospitals where most of the burn victims go have poor doctor/nurse ratio.

Since burn treatment requires heavy investment, most private hospitals don’t offer it. Reportedly, in Mumbai, only two private hospitals have burn wards. Burn victims also require long hospital stay and treatment that is costly.

Government hospitals are mandated to treat the burn victims, but they have poor infrastructure.

Burn victims also find themselves permanently scarred, changing their physical appearance significantly. They need psychological support, therapy and rehabilitation. Just monetary compensation for families is not enough.