ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) administration has prepared a preliminary report into the incident of the killing of 14 newborns in a fire in the hospital’s gynaecology department early on Wednesday.
According to the hospital administration, at the time of the fire, 15 newborns were in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the hospital, located in Islamabad, of whom only one was rescued.
The fire erupted on the third floor of the Mother and Child Health Care Center. Rescue teams were dispatched immediately after receiving information about the incident, the district administration said.
The hospital administration’s preliminary report provides an initial account of the circumstances surrounding the deadly fire.
According to the report, a device connected to the oxygen supply and monitoring system in the NICU allegedly exploded, causing the oxygen to catch fire.
The report stated that smoke from the fire entered the infants’ lungs through pipes connected to the oxygen system. The children died due to oxygen deprivation and burn injuries, as per the initial findings.
The hospital administration said the fire was initially small but spread rapidly.
Rescue sources, however, said the fire broke out at around 6:45am following an explosion involving an air-conditioning compressor in the nursery.
CDA fire incident report
The Capital Development Authority (CDA) fire incident report has stated that the fire and life safety arrangements in the hospital were inadequate and not as per standard requirements.
According to the report, the emergency exits were found permanently blocked from the outside. Moreover, it stated that the hospital security staff obstructed the initial response of the fire brigade crew.
The report compiled by Assistant Director Fire Operations Tashfeen Zaman Afridi added that the initial and probable cause of the fire was an electrical short circuit or overload on the plug.
According to the report, the incident was reported at 6:54 am on August 26, after which fire and rescue teams were dispatched a minute later. The report said that the first rescue team reached the spot within six minutes, at 7:01 am.
The CDA said that 44 personnel and six officers participated in the rescue operations. Six fire tenders, six ambulances, one rescue van, and one water bowser were used in the operation.
