Hospitals Flouted Fire Norms: DFS Rejects Safety Clearances

A string of lapses flagged

- Ridhima Gupta

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) has declined to renew fire safety certificates for certain prominent hospitals in the city, including Lok Nayak Hospital, Ambedkar Nagar Hospital, Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital and two blocks of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), according to people familiar with the matter. This comes after DFS found these hospitals violating multiple fire safety regulations during inspections, they said.

The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) has refused to renew fire safety certificates for at least four major government hospitals in the Capital—including Lok Nayak Hospital (LNH), Ambedkar Nagar Hospital, Bhagwan Mahavir Hospital, and two non-medical blocks at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)—due to unresolved safety violations, officials familiar with the matter said.

The refusals follow a series of periodical inspections carried out between March and May 2025.

At Lok Nayak, DFS flagged hazardous electrical wiring, disconnected fire alarms and public address systems, and non-functional fire control panels. At Bhagwan Mahavir, pressurization systems and fresh air ducts—critical for smoke control—had been dismantled. Ambedkar Nagar Hospital, DFS noted, has been operating without a fire safety clearance for several years. At AIIMS, issues ranged from locked escape routes and blocked corridors to faulty smoke exhausts and missing sprinkler systems.

Detailed reports were sent to hospital administrations, followed by notices, which were accessed by HT, stating that clearances would not be renewed until all deficiencies were rectified.