Old building does not follow fire safety norms & absence of extinguisher heightened risk n Jyoti Sanghadia, the floor manager, alerted other hospital staff after spotting the fire.
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Service (AFES) are the city's agencies whose job it is to counsel city buildings about fire safety norms.
But, the AMC managed Vadilal Sarabhai Hospital, popularly known as VS, does not follow fire safety regulations.
When you take a round of the wards at VS Hospital, you will not see any fire extinguisher there and the old section of the premises does not follow modern fire safety norms.
Open electricity wiring also makes it dangerous, in case of fire break-outs. To make matters worse, the catheterization laboratory, after the renovation, has a ceiling made of plaster of Paris, which experts say, catches fire fast.
"The VS Hospital authorities have not taken enough precaution to keep the building safe in case of fire. There is a special permission required from the AFES in case the building has used plaster of Paris in construction. The VS Hospital has not obtained that certificate," said an official.
Chief fire official, MF Dastur however, said that required measures have been taken in the VS Hospital main building. "We cannot place extinguisher as it would be difficult to carry them because of narrow space."
Luckily, fire broke out in the catheterization laboratory which is in the end portion of the VS Hospital main building, which has lots of windows and doors to leave the building in a hurry.
Rs4 crore of tax payers’ money went up in flames in the VS fire, as AMC has not insured the building.
"Why spend so much of money in premium? Fire breaks out once in a blue moon. It is good news that no life was lost in the incident," said a senior official.
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