Had the authorities taken three fire incidents in the Employees State Insurance Corporation's (ESIC) hospital at Andheri East in the past year seriously, the eight people who died in the blaze there on Monday would still be alive. Staff, who protested against the hospital authorities on Tuesday, claimed that they did not have proper facilities and the building was in bad shape.

The employees of the hospital alleged that there were no safety precautions in place, even though the building was under repairs for over 10 years. They stood in front of the hospital with placards registering their anger against its administration. The employees also protested against the contractor. Vishal Kumar, a laboratory technician said, "I am seeing repairs being done here for the past 10 years and there is no change. Slab collapses or fire incidents continue. The most recent one was about a month or two back, in the kitchen on the ground floor. We had complained to the administration to do something about this, and had the fire safety precautions been taken many lives might have been saved." Shelma Xavier, another employee said, "There is no respite from the constant noise and dust. Even basic facilities such as clean washrooms were not provided. We have complained many times to the administration but there was no positive response. The contractor should be taken to task and questioned about the delay in work."