NOIDA: The Metro Hospital and Heart Institute, which saw a massive blaze engulf its building on Thursday, did not have the basic fire-fighting equipment. This was pointed out by none other than the fire department in May last year when it had carried out an inspection after the hospital applied for a ‘no-objection’ certificate.Neither the fire department granted the NOC nor the hospital management got the required equipment installed in the past eight months . Moreover, the district fire department did not take any action against the hospital, despite the department’s deputy director (Meerut) recommending the same in September 2018.In a letter issued to the hospital on May 25, the fire safety officer (FSO)-I had pointed out several shortcomings in its safety system, two days after carrying out an inspection. Among the objections raised to the granting of NOC were lack of water sprinklers in the hospital building, and absence of fire pump of 2280 LPM capacity, diesel-run pump of the same capacity, and a jockey of 6180 LPM capacity.“Automatic sprinkler system is in the basement only. According to the National Building Code (NBC) rules, automatic sprinkler system should be installed in the entire building,” reads the letter accessed by TOI.Moreover, the automatic detection and fire alarm system was not installed on all the floors, except the basement and the first floor.Following the report, Aman Sharma, the deputy director of the fire department ( Meerut division ), wrote to the chief fire officer (CFO) of Gautam Budh Nagar in September, recommending strict action against the hospital.“Looking at the sensitivity of the matter, compliance be ensured after taking action under the provisions of UP Fire Prevention and Fire Safety Act, 2005,” it said.CFO AK Singh subsequently wrote to FSO-I, ordering him to take action. “You are being directed that action be initiated against (the hospital) under the provisions of the UP Fire Prevention and Fire Safety Act, 2005, and inform the undersignee about the action,” the letter states.However, no action has been taken till date.When contacted, FSO-I Kuldeep Kumar justified, “Work was being done in the Metro multi-speciality hospital in Sector 11 and was pending in the hospital in Sector 12. Some work is still continuing on one of the floors of the hospital in Sector 11.”The hospital, however, denied all the charges and claimed that despite getting the required equipment installed, the NOC was not given to them.Chhaya Malhotra, the hospital’s spokesperson, said, “On July 21, we had written to the CFO stating that the three points raised in the inspection report were complied with. Our equipment is in place on all the floors, but our NOC is still pending.”Sharma said he had asked the chief fire officer to inquire into the fire and report to him within a week.The fire, which began around 12pm on Thursday, threw the five-storey building into chaos and triggered desperate measures like breaking glass panes on the facade to let out smoke and some 400 trapped people, including 70 patients, as crammed stairwells slowed down evacuation. The fire was put out around an hour later, while it took almost two hours to evacuate all the patients.The administration has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the fire. “It will be conducted by the city magistrate,” district magistrate BN Singh had said .

Stay updated with all the Noida Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.