There is no greater deception than when a place believed to be a safe haven turned into a massacre. The increase in fires in hospitals reported over the past few years in the country, which puts people at high risk, could be the result of carelessness and indifference. At least four babies are said to have died in Monday’s fire at Kamla Nehru Children’s Hospital in Bhopal. In early November, Eleven patients have died in a fire that broke out in ward COVID-19 in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. In March this year, 10 people were killed a fire broke out at Sunrise Hospital, Mumbai. This is the latest in a series of hospital fires that, according to one estimate, have killed more than 120 people, most of them COVID-19 patients. Small and large fires have started in hospitals, which initially causes property damage and anxiety for patients, and their loved ones, while wildfires have killed patients and hospital staff. In many cases, hospital staff also need to ensure that patients are transferred to other areas of safety.

The link that has been made between hospital fires and the burden of COVID-19 cases is not just speculation. Hospital supervisors and forensic investigators have set up because of the sheer number of cases that hospitals have to deal with. With the increasing number of cases rising in the first and second waves of the epidemic, the need for power has increased. Hospitals tried to expand their facilities to accommodate as many patients as possible, when there was not enough time to expand the facilities. Although beds and mattresses could be disrupted gradually, and oxygen cylinders, in some cases, with herculean effort, hospitals would not be able to add power cables, or supply the equipment with additional equipment or electricity. Ventilators were also pushed to use 24 and 7, not the same as the previous COVID-19, and with great importance for this, they naturally pushed existing weapons to increase. One air conditioner unit was also operational on a regular basis. This led to short circuits, and perhaps thanks to the availability of flammable materials – alcohol-containing cleaners, carbon dioxide and PPE equipment – combustion was grown into a complete fire. It is important that hospitals that pulled the bulk of their weight during COVID-19 not only focus on fire safety and electrical lighting, make sure they are safe, and especially make sure there is no fire. Countries may require, or encourage, such a system to compile a list of hospitals, both large and small. Hospitals, after all, should remain a place of treatment, and to ensure that fire hazards are avoided, they should be the undisputed necessities.