Youth Congress State general secretary and Kozhikode District Panchayat member V.P. Dulkhifil has claimed that the May 2 fire outbreak at the PMSSY block of the Government Medical College Hospital was a “man-made incident”, citing the structural problems in the building.
Quoting from an inquiry report prepared by Sub-Collector Harshil R. Meena, which was submitted to the higher authorities in May itself, he said on Sunday that despite a warning by the district collector on May 27,2024, highlighting a high risk of fire on the campus, several statutory clearances were not obtained. These included an occupancy certificate, fire safety no-objection certificate, and licence for lifts.
“The UPS room where the incident occurred was not part of the originally approved fire safety plan. It was created by altering the designated OP and preparation rooms without obtaining revised fire safety sanction for the modified layout,” the inquiry report said. It also said that the glass panel of the UPS room was broken by the panicked hospital staff during the incident allowing the smoke to spread to other areas. “In this case, not breaking the door might have contained the smoke for a longer period and provided additional time for rescue. Also, the UPS room was not connected to the building management system,” the report said.
Quoting from the report, Mr. Dulkhifil said that the last maintenance of the UPS and the battery system was carried out on November 12,2024. The batteries were over three years old and one of them was weak. Though a replacement was recommended, it was not carried out. The UPS room, although connected to the central air-conditioning, lacked proper artificial ventilation, and did not meet National Building Code, 2016, standards, he added.
Published – October 06, 2025 12:58 am IST
