A day after a fire broke out in the Metro Hospital's Heart Institute at the corner of a busy intersection in the Noida city's Sector-12, officials, investigating the case, said the hospital authorities had never approached the fire department for obtaining No Objection Certificate(NOC) in the recent past.
"Sector-12 unit of Metro Hospital's NOC had expired in 2017. They didn't get it renewed in 2018 and even they haven't applied for fresh NOC in 2019. The fire department had also issued notice to hospital earlier," said Arun Kumar, Chief Fire Officer, Noida Fire Department.
"Preliminary investigation has revealed that there was no smoke projection system installed in the hospital. The smoke projection system would have thrown smoke out of the hospital", said Kumar.
"The hospital didn't even take any completion certificate from Noida authorities. Enquiry has been initiated and action will be taken against whoever is found guilty," said a senior Noida authority official.
On Thursday, the fire broke out in hospital around 11:30 am at the second floor of the hospital following which 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot.
"The fire was doused around 2 PM. The cause of fire is suspected to have been triggered by short circuit," said a fire official.
"Since the lifts in the hospital had stopped functioning and the staircases also become inaccessible due to billowing smoke, the window panes had to be smashed to pull out the people trapped inside. The hospital used a dozen ambulances for the patients admitted on the 5th floor. The fire damaged instruments, furniture and the accessories fitted in the hospital," a senior police official said.
"There were over 60 patients who were admitted at the time of the incident. All the patients, staff and other personnel were successfully evacuated. There are no casualties. Patients were shifted to hospital another branch in sector-11," said Dr Purshottam Lal, Chairman of Metro Hospital.
District Magistrate BN Singh on Thursday had set up an inquiry committee to probe the incident. "The inquiry committee will include senior police and administration officials who will submit a report in next 15 days," said Singh.