20230610 Blaze at hospital, 20 babies rescued
India Jun 10 2023 “Building” “Hospitals”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Blaze at hospital, 20 babies rescued
Updated: 2023-06-10
NEW DELHI: Around 40 firefighters in the early hours of Friday rescued 20 babies from a hospital for newborns in Dwarka that caught fire because of a suspected short circuit.
All the babies as well as nurses and doctors of Nest Newborn Hospital were unharmed. The babies were shifted to other hospitals.
Hospital sources said that all safety norms had been followed. They said that a fire no-objection certificate was not reqquired as the building was less than 9 metres in height. Police suspect a short circuit on the ground floor caused the blaze.
The operation took about two hours.
The fire service control room got the call for rescue around 1.35am. Atul Garg, the director of Delhi Fire Services, said, “Nine fire tenders were sent. All newborns were shifted to multiple hospitals. Furniture, papers and other items in the basement of the building, which was around 180 square yards, were ablaze. The building has a basement, ground plus three storeys. The hospital was on the first floor.”
The firefighters split into groups. One team started dousing the blaze, the other went in for evacuation. Eyewitnesses said that there was total chaos. “I thought of the worst possible scenarios when my daughter wasn’t in my arms. There was smoke everywhere,” said a mum who came to take her baby girl home.
Mukul Bhardwaj, the station officer in Dwarka who carried out the rescue, said: “As the roads were empty, we reached the location early. The fire was small and on the rear side (of the building), but the smoke was thick. It was difficult to see or breathe without our apparatus. On the first floor, smoke had engulfed the corridors. The nurses and doctors told us 20 newborns, some as young as two days’ old, were inside. We had breathing apparatus on but the nurses didn’t. We told the staff to cover their faces with cloth. One by one, the firefighters entered, lifted the babies in their arms, wrapped them in towels and got them out. We appreciate the help of the nurses. The babies were in an adjacent building till ambulances arrived.”
Three newborns were discharged, 13 were moved to Arya Hospital in Janakpuri, two to Dwarka More Newborn Child Hospital and two were taken to JK Hospital in Janakpuri.
At Arya Hospital, Vandana, the mother of a newborn boy, said she was told about the fire after the baby was moved to the second hospital. “We were told around 8am about the fire…. I am glad all are safe,” she said.
Harsha Vardhan Mandava, DCP, Dwarka, said: “A case has been filed under section 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) against the building owner and the hospital owner.”
Web Source: The Times of India