20120526 India Fire guts Aundh hospital’s storeroom on terrace in
India May 26 2012 “Building” “Hospitals”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 1 to 29 Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Fire guts Aundh hospital’s storeroom on terrace in
Updated: 2012-05-26
PUNE: A massive fire gutted the storeroom located on the third floor terrace of Medipoint Hospital in Aundh on Saturday. The blaze, which started at 11.30 am, may have been caused by a short circuit, firefighters said.
There were no casualties reported, but the incident caused chaos in the hospital and 36 patients were evacuated to nearby facilities. Fireman Abdul Patel suffered from suffocation. The fire gutted documents, furniture and other unused articles worth Rs 1.5 lakh.
Aundh fire brigade sub division officer Saibaba Jilhewar told TOI that firemen rescued 10 people stuck on the floor immediately after reaching the spot and instructed the hospital authorities to evacuate the patients to safety as a preventive measure.
Jilhewar said that three fire tenders and two water tankers were brought to the spot and used to battle the blaze. Columns of thick black fumes billowed from the terrace, he added.
According to Jilhewar, the hospital staff initially tried to gain control over the fire, but could not. There was poor visibility in the hospital as the lights had been switched off. The firemen worked their way to the terrace through black fumes that filled the second floor. Once there, they put the fire out in 45 minutes, Jilhewar said.
One of the hospital’s directors Dr Shivram Bhonagiri present at the spot told TOI that the staff used fire-fighting equipment to check the blaze, but the fire could not be controlled. Heat may have caused the fire, he said. He denied any negligence on the hospital’s part. Hospital authorities said they called the fire brigade after the fire broke out and its personnel reached the spot immediately.
Thirty-six patients including four from the intensive care unit were rushed to nearby hospitals in separate ambulances for treatment.
Local corporator Ranjana Murkute, who visited the hospital, said she would provide help to the hospital. Biswajeet Chakravarthy, manager of a fast food centre nearby, said shops owners in the area helped to bring the patients out of the hospital on stretches and in wheelchairs. Seven ambulances had been arranged to shift the patients to nearby hospitals, he added.
Fire safety audit was done
The 102-bed Medipoint Hospital in Aundh had conducted an audit of all its firefighting equipment two days before the fire broke in the storeroom on the third floor terrace, hospital director Dr Shivram Bhonagiri said on Saturday. He added that the hospital is equipped with fire extinguishers, water pipes and water tanks. According to Bhonagiri, their primary concern was to move patients to safety. No injury was caused to them, their relatives or staff, he said. Electricity supply was disconnected immediately after the incident. The hospital will start functioning from Tuesday after supply is restored, he added.
News Source: The Times of India
Date: 26 May, 2012
Country: India