A disaster that was waiting to happen

CHENNAI: Saturday’s fire accident at the Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital (KMC) here was a disaster that was waiting to happen. For, multiple reminders to the administration improve the safety mechanism fell on deaf ears, according to officials of the Fire and Rescue Service and police personnel stationed at the outpost on the hospital premises.N Priya Ravichandran, Divisonal officer-Chennai City Central, TN Fire and Rescue Services, who inspected the scene post the fire, told Express that a technical snag in the split air conditioning unit caused the blaze. Inspector S Muthukumar, the investigating officer for the incident, concurred. Could it have been prevented? Possibly, had the authorities upgraded the safety systems when the warning bells initially rang. Sources in the Fire and Rescue Department said that an inspection of the hospital revealed that fire safety measures in the hospital were inadequate. The electric cables were not maintained properly and there was no hose-roll system to douse the fire. “We had even sent a written communication to the hospital urging them to upgrade the fire safety system and re-wire the electric cables,” said a senior fire safety official on condition of anonymity.The officer also said that in the last two years, two fire accidents were reported in KMC, apart from Saturday’s incident that snuffed out three lives. Live electricity cables were found exposed near the new block of the hospital, where hundreds of relatives of in-patients sit with their kin.“In the last month alone, around 10 minor fire sparks occurred due to the power leak from the electricity cable,” said a policeman while lifting part of a broken plastic chair that was used by the hospital to cover exposed cables. That revealed four thick cable wires taped together by plaster. “A drizzle is enough to cause electrocution because of these cables,” said the police officer.Visitors sitting near the new block said they had seen sparks flying from electricity cables at night. A walk around the hospital revealed that many wards did not have fire extinguishers. There was just one outside the medical superintendent’s office. For his part, however, KMCH medical superintendent Dr R Sukumar claimed that the fire safety measures were in tact.