Bhubaneswar hospital fire: CM orders RDC probe, ICU, dialysis ward sealed

About 106 patients, who were rescued and evacuated from the hospital by the fire brigade personnel, have been admitted in various hospitals in the city and the state government has announced free medical treatment to them. Patnaik, who expressed serious concern and grief over the tragic incident, visited the Capital Hospital on Monday night. On Tuesday morning, he also visited the AMRI Hospital and AIIMS Hospital where several patients rescued from the SUM Hospital are undergoing treatment.

State Health Secretary Arati Ahuja inspected the SUM Hospital and ordered to seal the ICU, the Dialysis Ward and Emergency ward till further order. The Director of Medical Education and Training (DMET) has also been asked to conduct an inquiry into the fire incident. The SUM Hospital run by the Sikhya O Anusandhan University(SOA) has also ordered a probe and suspended the Fire Safety Officer, Power Supply Officer and Hospital Manager for dereliction of their duty.

The hospital authorities have expressed deep anguish over the deaths due to the fire and said it would extend all assistance as per law to the next of kin of the deceased. Besides, it would bear the cost of treatment of the seriously injured and those shifted to other hospitals. An internal committee headed by the Vice-Chancellor of the University Prof Amit Banerjee, had been set up to inquire into the mishap. The hospital, the authority said, would extend all cooperation to the inquiry to be conducted by the state government. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Odisha Governor S C Jamir, AICC president Sonia Gandhi, Union Health Minister J P Nadda, Union Tribal Welfare Minister Juel Oram and Union Minister for petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan have expressed their profound grief over the tragic incident.

Meanwhile, the state government has decided to inspect the fire-fighting measures taken by all the private hospitals in the capital city and directed the official to conduct a thorough check of the fire-fighting equipment installed in the hospitals. Official sources said post-mortem of all the 20 patients killed in the fire had been conducted and so far, five of them were cremated at Swargadwar in Puri.

The state government had provided vehicle for free transportation of the bodies from the hospital. Sources said electrical short circuit led to the devastating fire after fire from the electricity board of the ICU spread to the Dialysis ward and most of the patients died of suffocation due to asphyxia. A thick smug of smoke that engulfed the ICU and the Dialysis ward prevented the rescue operation and the fire brigade personnel have to break the windows of the building to rescue the patients and attendants who were trapped inside the building.

As many as seven fire tenders were pressed into service to extinguish the blaze which was contained after few hours. Monday’s fire mishap was one of the major and worst hospital fire mishap in the state.