TV
A fire broke out on the third floor of a private nursing home near Purighat Police Station in Cuttack on Saturday.
As per reports, the fire broke out in the ICU located on the third floor of the nursing home. On being informed, a fire tender reached the spot and the fire personnel started the operation to rescue the patients and douse the flame.
As per the preliminary information, around eight patients were undergoing treatment in the ICU when the mishap occurred. At the time of filing the report, all the patients were rescued safely.
As a precautionary measure, all the rescued patients were shifted to other hospitals for treatment.
As per reports, 12 newborns were also in the hospital and rescued.
“The patients undergoing treatment at the ICU have already been shifted. There are 12 babies who need neonatal ICU. I spoke to the secretary of the Health department. The Chief Minister’s Office is coordinating. The process is underway. The fire has been tamed completely. Efforts are on to clear the smoke,” said Sudhansu Sarangi, DG, Fire Services.
“We first rescued the persons undergoing treatment in the ICU. We were told that the newborn babies were safe in their SNCU. Then we engaged a smoke exhauster to clear the smoke. I can’t say the exact number of patients rescued. But it may be around 40 to 50,” said Sanjeeb Behera, assistant fire officer.
When contacted, Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling said, “We have already directed DG, Fire Services to investigate. After receiving the report, we will definitely take action.”
While a question is raised if the hospital had necessary fire safety measures, the manager of the facility said the cause of the fire was a short circuit in an air conditioner. But there was no fire in the ICU, he added.
“A short circuit in an air conditioner led to smoke which spread everywhere. We had fire extinguishers so we controlled the fire immediately. Neither smoke nor fire did spread to any of our ICUs,” said Gyanendra Samal, manager of Trisha Hospital.
Meanwhile, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Majhi ordered a high-level probe into the fire mishap. Besides announcing that the state government would bear the treatment expenses of the patients, he also directed the Secretary and the district Collector to shift patients elsewhere.
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