RTI reply - ramps are not mandatory in hospitals
28 Jul, 2012In reply to an application filed under the RTI Act, the Chief Fire Officer of Mumbai Mr. Suhas Joshi has informed that the fire safety rules have no provisions for mandatory ramps that would help incapacitated patients exit the building during any emergency.
A fire had broken out in the basement of AMRI Hospital in Kolkata on December 9, 2011, killing 89 including patients, who were incapacitated by their injuries. There have been calls for the construction of ramps that would help incapacitated patients exit the building during any emergency. Should these ramps be made obligatory as a part of safety rules?
While it is difficult to attach ramps to an already-constructed building, this measure would help not only in case of a fire, it would also help the patients and their disabled attendants in the routine movements on a day – today basis. The staircases in some cases are too narrow that if there was a fire, there would be a catastrophe.