After the Ahmednagar Civil Hospital fire that saw 11 casualties, the State Covid Task Force held an emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss suggestions on forming guidelines and preventing such episodes in future. While a preliminary probe found the firefighting equipment inadequate, fire experts have not ruled out the fact that rich oxygen supply can be one reason why these facilities are prone to fire.

So far, at least 51 lives have been lost in fire in Covid facilities in Maharashtra in the past 14-15 months. “It has been a cause of concern seeing a series of fire incidents happening in Covid-19 facilities. With the Ahmednagar Civil Hospital fire, this emergency meeting was held on Sunday afternoon to discuss the way forward and how to prevent such episodes,” said a doctor who is part of the task force.