Ludhiana’s fire safety scheme fails due to a shortage of firefighters

The summer months saw an increase in fire occurrences because of circuit overloads or faulty equipment, but the civil hospital, which sees up to 10,000 patients a day across many departments, still has a ways to go before it gets its house in order.

Since 2018, the hospital has operated without a Fire Department “No Objection Certificate.” Despite the department’s representatives having visited the facility on many occasions in the past, no NOC was issued and the license was not renewed because of the absence of fire fighting equipment.

The installation of the firefighting and fire detection system is now complete, which is fantastic news, but there are still not enough firefighters. All formalities must be completed before the fire department is assigned, the firefighting and detection system is activated, and a NOC is granted.

During a recent visit to the hospital, Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney brought up the matter of the firefighting system and requested that firefighters be appointed as quickly as feasible by the authorities.

“On April 15, the fire officer finished training the hospital personnel. The Senior Medical Officer gave the Deputy Medical Commissioner a plan for hiring firefighters, but it was not yet complete. The DC advised her to resubmit the proposal in accordance with the standards.

The government has been notified of the plan for the employment of firefighters, according to Dr. Amarjeet Kaur, Deputy Medical Commissioner. “To ensure that appointments are made as soon as possible, I will also bring up the matter during the meeting with the Deputy Commissioner,” she said.

Sub-fire officer Maninder Singh said that the civil hospital’s fire safety work was finished, but that a NOC would be provided for the hiring of firefighters as soon as the work was finished.