Union Health Secretary has urged for strengthening capacities for prevention, preparedness and mitigation fire safety in hospitals
Published: Apr 23, 2025
By TIOLCorplaws News Service
NEW DELHI, APR 23, 2025: PRIORITIZING and highlighting the issue of fire prevention and safety in health facilities, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched the Fire Safety Week in collaboration with all States/UTs as well as relevant central Ministries/Departments from 21st to 25th April, 2025. Union Health Secretary, Punya Salila Srivastava led the nationwide pledge ceremony on the theme of 'Fire Safety in Health Facilities' at Nirman Bhawan, today.
Senior officials of the Ministry physically participated in pledge taking ceremony. Over 3,000 participants from public and private health facilities virtually joined the pledge ceremony and webinar on "Emergency evacuation and patient safety strategies" and "Fire prevention in high-risk areas of healthcare facilities".
Speaking at the occasion, the Union Health Secretary stressed on the importance of ensuring fire and electrical safety in all health facilities, while highlighting need for fire safety planning, capacity building of all healthcare functionaries on hospital fire safety as well as need to organize regular mock drills on fire preparedness as well as patient evacuation.
Srivastava also highlighted the need to develop a culture of safety at health facilities. She urged all public and private health facilities to participate maximally in the activities and share the best practices with the Ministry to enhance and ensure the fire safety across all health facilities in the country.
All the participants pledged to uphold the highest standards of fire safety within their respective organizations and healthcare facilities; cultivate a culture of fire safety awareness within their respective institutions by educating all staff and stakeholders on fire prevention, emergency response procedures, and the vital resources needed to maintain a safe environment; prioritize the safety of every patient, colleague, and visitor; embrace innovative solutions to prevent fire hazards and create a legacy of safety, resilience, and trust.
Various activities have been planned throughout the country during the Fire Safety Week in order to raise awareness regarding importance of prevention and mitigation of fire hazards in all healthcare facilities across the country. Along with the nation-wide pledge ceremony on fire safety in all health facilities, the activities include fire audit at healthcare facilities and awareness generation activities, etc.
The Ministry has also organized a two-day webinar series on fire and electrical safety in health facilities, covering crucial aspects like prevention, regulatory compliance, maintenance and operations of fire detection and suppression systems, patient evacuation as well as holding mock-drills/ mock exercises to engage. In total, the webinar series has been attended by over 3,000 participants from all States/UTs.
Seeking active involvement of all States/UTs, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has also circulated a detailed checklist to all States/UTs, while urging them to direct all health facilities (public and private) to undertake fire and electrical safety audits. All States/UTs have been requested to organize awareness generation activities, especially in medical colleges as well as large tertiary level hospitals. Such awareness generation activities will include organizing poster-making/quiz competition, holding demonstrations on optimal use of fire detection and suppression equipment/systems, etc.
Considering the need for active participation by private health sector too, the Ministry has also urged Indian Medical Association, Central Ministries and Departments to participate in observing 'Fire Safety Week' activities through their State and District level branches.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in collaboration with MyGOV platform of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has also published online pledge as well as fire safety quiz. The pledge as well as quiz may be accessed using the link https://pledge.mygov.in/fire-safety-in-healthcare/ and https://quiz.mygov.in/quiz/quiz-on-fire-safety-at-healthcare-facilities/ .
Union Health Ministry is committed to ensure safety and well-being of patients (both outpatients and inpatients), their attendants and all healthcare functionaries at the healthcare facilities. The Ministry continues to engage with all States/UTs by issuing detailed advisories, checklists and Do's & Don'ts on fire prevention and safety in health facilities.
