Fire Department begins safety review of schools and hospitals across Karnataka

In an effort to strengthen fire safety in government schools across the State, the Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services (KSFES) has launched an audit drive, extending it to low-rise school buildings.

In addition, the fire department has begun studying safety guidelines issued to hospitals in different States in order to formulate new, comprehensive guidelines for hospitals and clinics in Karnataka.

Till August-end, the KSFES had audited 24,000 of the approximately 46,000 government schools in Karnataka. The survey is expected to be completed within the next two months.

Typically, a fire safety Non-Objection Certificate (NOC) is mandatory for all high-rise buildings, including schools. Furthermore, all schools are required to install safety equipment and display precautionary boards within the premises after seeking the fire department’s advice, even though the NOC itself is not compulsory (for low rise).

Fire Department officials admitted that a large-scale audit of this nature had never been undertaken before, despite being a requirement. To ensure safety, the Education Department approached the KSFES a few months ago, requesting an audit and a detailed list of safety requirements for government schools in Karnataka.

Shivashankar T.N., Director of the KSFES, told The Hindu that the audit would assess requirements such as fire safety equipment, structural design, and water storage facilities for each school.

“Nearly all government schools are single-storey structures. So, there is no need for an NOC. But as midday meal programmes expand, we decided to take up the audit purely as a precaution,” he explained.

Fire safety audit in hospitals

For hospitals, regardless of building size, both the NOC and fire advisory have been made mandatory, given that they are critical structures where public health and lives are at risk in the event of a mishap.

The NOC and fire advisory regulations are often disregarded in ordinary buildings due to the lack of accountability among authorities responsible for routine inspections and penalties, a fire department source said. However, in the case of hospitals and schools, the NOC is vital for obtaining licences to operate. For instance, hospitals must submit an NOC from the fire department to the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) and the health department in order to secure accreditation and official clearances, as required under the Karnataka Private Medical Establishment Act.

Smaller private facilities, including clinics, have raised concerns about the high cost of installing fire safety measures. This concern was reflected in a fire department audit, which revealed that fewer than 30% of hospitals had complied with fire safety advisories.

High-level meeting

According to a fire department official, a recent high-level meeting with the health department concluded that a study of fire safety practices in other States is necessary in order to draft practical and comprehensive advisories for medical establishments in Karnataka.

“Following that decision, we have begun visiting States to study their implementation models,” the officer said.