The Ministry of Health has advised that all fire safety measures in the Colonial War Memorial (CWM) Hospital will be strengthened.

According to the CWM Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Jemesa Tudravu, the CWM, being one of the busiest hospitals in Fiji, is enhancing its fire safety and disaster safety measures.

Dr Tudravu said in the last two years, the hospital has been working closely with the National Fire Authority (NFA) and Water Authority of Fiji (WAF) to upgrade its fire safety and fire prevention status.

According to Dr Tudravu, they have “taken proactive measures to upgrade its firefighting equipment at the hospital with the purchase and repairs of fire extinguishers and fire hoses.”

Dr Tudravu was responding to a Fiji Sun letter writer Satish Nakched who stated that despite informing, meeting and writing to the relevant authorities, not a single improvement was noticed when he conducted a quick visual inspection of the facilities after more than 17 months of the initial complaint.

Mr Nakched stated that the current poor system of the fire prevention and the evacuation procedures at the CWM Hospital was not in compliance with the NFA requirements because the fire alarm warning systems were not operational.

“The fire control panel outside the children’s ward and two near the emergency have been vandalised and are completely dead,” he stated.

“The fire panel glass door is smashed and the one outside the children’s ward does not have any closure at all with exposed electrical wires which is a hazard in itself.”

He said chances were high that an unsupervised child could become a victim of electrocution.

He also said appropriate proactive action must be taken now to ensure that the risk of fire in the hospital was minimised. He stated this could be done by compliance with the fire safety requirements of the NFA and other legislation.

“The relevant department must immediately instruct the Safety Audit team to probe further with the view to eliminate the hazard and recommend corrective action.

“Such threats will only occur if the organisation has a poor and a very ineffective OHS Committee which itself is a breach of the Act and other associated legislation.”

Dr Tudravu reiterated that the hospital had initiated regular servicing of firefighting equipment at the hospital.

He said an evacuation drill had also been conducted last year and there are plans to have at least two more evacuation drills this year.

“Furthermore, there is ongoing maintenance of infrastructure to ensure that the hospital structure is safe and in good repair.”

In addition, Dr Tudravu said the hospital team had a meeting with the Ministry of Labour and NFA officials last December to further discuss disaster safety measures for the hospital.

“As a result NFA embarked on a fire safety survey for the CWM Hospital that has started and will focus on enhancing fire safety equipment.

“Also life safety including the notification system – will cover the fire alarms in all wings of the hospital, evacuation plan and procedures to be streamlined and staff to be equipped with skills and knowledge on fire safety measures,” he said.

He added that the survey report will help the CWM Hospital in partnership with the NFA to undertake staff training.

“Through collaborative partnerships with the relevant agencies, the CWM Hospital is adamant on improving its OHS standards and measures.”

Edited by Jonathan Bryce

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