Enhancing fire safety readiness in a medical college: faculty training outcomes and fire drill performance evaluation

Background: Fire safety is a critical component of tertiary healthcare infrastructure, and recurring hospital fire incidents in India highlight the urgent need for improved institutional preparedness. Faculty members play an important role in maintaining a safe clinical and academic environment; however, effective preparedness also requires functional systems, coordinated staff response, and regular fire drills. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional interventional study analyzed routine fire safety activities conducted at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar State Institute of Medical Sciences, Mohali. The study assessed fire safety knowledge, awareness, and preparedness among faculty members (n=42) and evaluated institutional readiness through structured mock fire drills conducted across major hospital departments (n=10). Faculty members underwent a structured 30-35-minute PowerPoint-based training session, and knowledge was assessed using a pretested Google Form questionnaire. Institutional preparedness was evaluated using a standardized Fire Drill Checklist applied during the drills. Pre-post comparisons were analyzed using the Chi-square test for knowledge and paired t-test for drill performance. Results: Significant improvements were observed in key domains. Awareness of fire emergency numbers increased from 64.7% to 100% (p<0.01), the ability to correctly use a fire extinguisher improved from 33.3% to 85.7% (p<0.05), and understanding of fire classifications increased from 0% to 83.3% (p<0.01). Mean fire drill scores improved from 1.40±0.699 to 4.90±0.876 across 10 drills (p<0.001). Conclusions: Structured training significantly improves faculty knowledge and awareness, while routine mock drills strengthen institutional preparedness. Integrating mandatory training, periodic simulation drills, and regular safety audits is essential to enhance fire safety readiness in medical colleges and hospitals.