A fire broke out during the early hours on April 20 at Chettinad Hospital complex in Kelambakkam, Chennai. At 4.15 am, the fire broke out at the pharmacy on the first floor of the main building of the complex following which hospital staff began shifting patients. 

A short circuit in an air-conditioner was found to be the reason behind the fire. Close to 25 patients from the first and second floors of the hospital were shifted out by the time help could arrive from outside. According to a report in The Hindu, the Fire and Rescue Services personnel rushed from Siruseri, Maraimalainagar, and other areas.

The hospital staff immediately alerted the police and fire control station and the fire was brought under control after two hours. According to the police, the glass windows had to be demolished to bring the fire under control. Following the incident, the implementation of safety measures in hospitals and medical centres in both Government and private sector came under scrutiny.

A report in The New Indian Express quotes social activist Jawaharlal Shanmugham, on whose petition fire safety guidelines for hospitals are being framed following a Madras High Court order, as saying that private and government hospitals lacking fire safety mechanisms in one way or the other.

Highlighting the need for good ventilation, Shanmugham stated that a private hospital in the city had come out with a Rs 2 crore fire safety system where in the smoke is sucked out, thus reducing the possible threat of patients dying of asphyxiation in the event of a fire.

In January 2016, a fire broke out at the Rajiv Gandhi Govt. General Hospital in Chennai caused by a short-circuit in an ICU (ward 213) of the government hospital. While no loss of life was reported, a total of 16 patients (10 male and 6 female) were evacuated from the ICU after the spark was noticed.

This story was originally published on The News Minute and is reprinted here with permission. It can be viewed on https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/fire-breaks-out-private-hospital-chennai-no-loss-life-100418