The Centre for Health Equity (CHE), Advanced Study Institute of Asia (ASIA), has submitted a representation to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) seeking a wider examination of recurring fire-safety failures in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) and Special Newborn Care Units (SNCUs) in government hospitals. The representation follows the recent fires at the District Women’s Hospital in Amravati, Maharashtra, on 24 August 2026, and the District Hospital in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, on 22 August 2026, and places these incidents within a longer pattern of neonatal fire-related incidents reported across India.
Accompanying the representation is a detailed briefing note, Neonatal Fire Safety in India: Recurring Risks, Systemic Gaps and Institutional Accountability, which examines evidence from previous incidents, fire-safety audits, regulatory frameworks and institutional responses. The briefing highlights recurring concerns around fire and electrical safety audits, Fire NOCs, maintenance and monitoring, staff preparedness, evacuation protocols and coordination among health, fire, electrical and public-works authorities. It calls for greater facility-level verification, transparent accountability and NICU/SNCU-specific preparedness mechanisms to ensure that fire-safety compliance translates into sustained protection for newborns in public healthcare facilities.
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