‘Fire safety measures missing in store rooms of various AIIMS depts’

New Delhi, Aug 17 : Appropriate fire safety measures are not being taken and audited in the storerooms of various departments, units, facilities, etc on a regular basis in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi, as per an office memorandum undersigned by M Srinivas, director of the premier institute.

The revelation comes in the wake of a fire incident in the AIIMS which was reported earlier this month.

"It has been brought to the attention that appropriate fire safety measures are not being taken and audited in the storerooms of various departments, units and facilities, etc on a regular basis.This not only causes a local fire hazard, but is also a threat to the entire AIIMS campus and its occupants viz patients, visitors, staff, etc.," Srinivas wrote in the office memorandum.

The Director has directed that all departments, units and facilities etc., shall immediately audit the fire safety measures in their respective storerooms in line with the requirements of the material stored therein and ensure that appropriate systems for fire protection, prevention and suppression are in place and functional, read the office memorandum issued by the Director, a copy of which was accessed by IANS.

"A regular documented re-audit of the same shall be conducted as and when there is a change in the type of material being stored in such storerooms and on a monthly basis.

Wherever required, assistance may be taken from Security and Fire Department and Engineering Services to augment the fire safety measures or to determine the appropriateness of the fire safety measures already in place," it said.

The Director said if any lapses detected in the fire safety measures in any of the areas, the administrative incharge of the said area shall be held responsible for any loss to AllMS or to any person.

In addition to that, Srinivas wrote: "Keeping in view the recent fire incident, it has been decided that a dedicated storage space shall be identified on each floor where backup firefighting equipment, fire proximity suits, smoke ejectors, rescue tools, etc., shall be always kept in a state of readiness to avoid time in fetching the same in case of fire."

std/pgh