Dists told to engage nodal officers in hosp fire safety panel

Kolkata: State health department has directed the Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMoHs) in all the districts to engage nodal officers for the hospital-level fire safety committee.

The order has been sent to the principals of all medical colleges in Bengal.

All the districts have been asked to conduct fire safety audits regularly. Hospital-level fire safety mechanisms have to be activated to take an optimum level of precautionary measures and also to ensure inspections fortnightly.

Hospital-level fire safety committees have been created in various hospitals. The committee will closely monitor the functionality of fire safety measures. The committee will identify the loopholes in the firefighting mechanism in the hospitals.

It will send recommendations to the state Health department suggesting remedial measures in this regard. The committee may also recommend corrective measures that ought to be taken in the hospitals.

The nodal officer will monitor and examine the fire safety issues. An order was recently issued recommending following the appropriate authorities issued by the Fire and Emergency Services department.

Earlier, the state Fire and Emergency Services department had recommended a slew of preventive measures to the state Health department to prevent fire at the hospitals.