There was a tragic accident at Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan when flames in the ICU of the Sawai Man Singh Hospital ( SMS Hospital ) led to chaos and panic late Sunday night. The second floor of the hospital trauma centre is the Intensive Care Unit where the fire broke out. The fire spread very fast and patients and their attendants attempted to leave in a frenzy, some of them even ran out with beds and mattresses. The fire continued to take the lives of seven people despite their effort.
Fire Broke Out at 11:10 PM
It is reported that smoke started coming out of the store room of the neuro ward on second floor of trauma building at about the time of 11:10 PM. Patients notified hospital staff at once since the smoke spread at a rapid rate. In a few minutes, it was possible to observe the flames that were emerging in the ICU.
The initial reports indicate that there was a short circuit, which caused the fire. When the fire alarm was turned on, panic ensued among the hospital staff and attendants who hurried to get patients cosy.
Citizens Rushed to the Streets with Sick folks.
The attendants took their family members (remaining in hospital beds) out in the streets as the hospital administration started to relocate other patients in the wards nearby. A number of fire tenders came to the rescue and after a hard struggle the fire was eventually contained.
According to hospital sources the cause of the fire must have been electrical short but this is yet to be confirmed. To avoid additional exposure of patients and staff to danger, the whole trauma centre was evacuated. Others were said to experience breathing problems as a result of inhaling smoke, which was immediately transported to other wards and the emergency unit.
Eyewitness Account
One of the men who had a relative in the tragedy told me, Pintu, the son of my aunt, 25 years old. When the smoke began, at approximately 11: 20 PM, we reported to the doctors that the patients had a problem breathing. But the smoke continued to increase, and the doctors and staff ran out soon after that.
He went on to say that the smoke was so thick we could not save all. We were able somehow to drag out four or five patients. The son of my aunt, who was doing well, was to be discharged in a day or two, but he died before it could come to pass.
The Statement of the Hospital Administration.
Officials have verified that seven patients succumbed to suffocation and that some others are still in their critical conditions. Dr. In charge of the trauma centre, Anurag Dhakad told me that it had two ICUs on the second floor, which are a trauma ICU and a semi-ICU. The total number of patients amounted to 24. 11 were patients in the trauma ICU, and 13 in the semi-ICU. The incident that happened in the trauma ICU resulted in the short circuit and the fire spread quickly emitting harmful gases. The patients were mostly unconscious or in a critical condition.
After the accident, the hospital management has mentioned that patient safety is the foremost priority and a complete evaluation of the damage will be conducted. The tragedy has raised serious concerns on the issue of fire safety and emergency preparedness in government hospitals in the state once again.
