Urban expansion has witnessed the mushrooming of hospitals, commercial buildings, apartments, hostels and paying guest accommodation across every locality of the city. However, fire safety preparedness remains a matter of concern, with several buildings lacking adequate arrangements to deal with emergencies. Several facilities across the city lack proper firefighting infrastructure. In many buildings, fire alarms and firefighting systems are either non-functional or not maintained regularly. While fire extinguishers have been installed in some buildings, including hospitals, they are often not serviced regularly.

Dr Praveen Karan, state epidemiologist, said, “Regular audits are conducted at government healthcare facilities. While both government and private hospitals generally possess basic fire safety infrastructure, the issue lies in maintaining and renewing safety certifications on time.” Many private clinics continue to function with little awareness regarding fire safety compliance. A dental practitioner operating a clinic at Kutchery Chowk said, “The responsibility of maintaining fire safety infrastructure is on the building owner. This clinic is on rent. The norms should be maintained by the building owner. We have not checked about it because we consider it his responsibility.”