The management of Ramesh Cardiac and Multi-speciality Hospitals Private limited, which has taken Hotel Swarna Palace for lease to run COVID Care Centre, has entered an MoU with the hotel management though it did not have No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Fire Service Department and fire fighting equipment, according to a report submitted to the District Collector by the Krishna district Joint Collector.
Despite having full knowledge about lack of fire safety in Hotel Swarna Palace, the hospital management has taken the building for lease for providing treatment to COVID patients, the official stated in the report.
According to the findings of the district committee, the hotel has only one fire extinguisher against the required 40. As per the Fire Services authorities, 350 automatic sprinkler systems are required in Hotel Swarna Palace, but 137 have been installed, of which water connection has been given to none of them.
As many as 84 automatic fire alarm systems and 13 electric fire alarm systems are required in the five-storied hotel building, but not even a single fire alarm has been provided in the hotel.
The inquiry officials opined that Ramesh Hospitals management entered the MoU with Hotel Swarna Palace, with full knowledge that the building is not fit for running the COVID Care Centre.
The Krishna District Fire Officer addressed a letter to the Joint Collector stating that Hotel Swarna Palace is a high-rise building which needs to take NOC from the Director General, Fire Services Department.
‘No alert sounded’
Officials of the Fire Services, Police, Revenue and the Medical and Health Department, who rescued the patients and shifted them to hospitals in the early hours of August 9, said that no alert was sounded about flames and there were no fire extinguishers.
Police Commissioner B. Srinivasulu, who monitored the rescue operations for about two hours at the centre, said had the fire alarm alerted on smoke, flames would not have spread to the first and second floors and the deaths could not have occurred.
The patients and the passers-by too said that there was no water sprinklers and fire extinguishers in the centre.