Three infants lost their lives in a fire that broke out at a government hospital in Amravati, Maharashtra, triggering sharp political reactions and renewed demands for mandatory fire safety audits across all state-run medical facilities. Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) [NCP(SP)] MLA Rohit Pawar called the incident “very unfortunate” and pressed the state government to conduct fire audits of every government hospital and formulate a six-month action plan.

What Rohit Pawar Said

“This is a very unfortunate incident. Three children, all from poor families, lost their lives,” Rohit Pawar said. He pointed out that a similar fire had occurred in 2021, after which a special committee was constituted to audit hospitals across Maharashtra and recommend corrective measures. “The committee submitted its report to the government, but unfortunately, we understand that no action was taken on it,” he said.

Pawar demanded that the government prepare a six-month action plan based on that report and communicate the measures to be implemented in every government hospital across every taluka of Maharashtra. He further alleged that the state government does not value the lives of the poor, citing figures that reportedly show around 44,000 children have died over the last three years due to malnutrition, serious illnesses, accidents, and snakebites in schools and hostels for tribal children.

BJP Also Raises Accountability Questions

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Navneet Rana echoed concerns over the absence of fire safety compliance at the hospital. “How many times has the fire audit been conducted? Many poor children come to the government hospital, and we have lost three children today,” she said. Rana added that she had spoken to a minister and requested an immediate letter be issued, and questioned who would be held responsible if fire audits were never carried out.

How the Fire Broke Out

According to preliminary reports, an explosion in a ventilator sparked the blaze, which rapidly engulfed the unit. The exact cause of the explosion remains under investigation, with authorities examining whether the ventilator was outdated, poorly maintained, or suffered a critical technical failure. Duty doctors, nurses, and hospital staff managed to rescue several infants as soon as the fire was detected.

The affected ward is located on the third floor, which houses three Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) wards with a combined capacity of 39 beds — 13 in each. At the time of the fire, the unit reportedly had between 9 and 12 high-risk, premature infants under critical care.

Newly Built Hospital, Failed Safety Systems

The building had been inaugurated just a year ago by the late Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. Despite being newly constructed, the automated fire suppression system reportedly failed to activate during the blaze — a failure that has deepened public outrage and raised severe questions about emergency preparedness at the facility. Authorities are continuing their investigation to determine the precise chain of events.

This incident follows a pattern of fire-related tragedies at Indian public health facilities, where systemic gaps in maintenance and compliance have repeatedly cost lives. The demand for a structured, time-bound audit framework reflects growing pressure on state governments to move from reactive responses to enforceable safety standards.