Fire at Nehru Hospital block of PGIMER-Chandigarh, over 400 patients evacuated
Chandigarh (PTI): More than 400 patients were evacuated to safety after a major fire broke out in PGIMER-Chandigarh's Nehru Hospital block late last night, officials said on Tuesday.
No injuries were reported in the incident.
An official of the fire and emergency services department said that 11 fire tenders including one each from Panchkula and Mohali were pressed into service to quickly control the blaze.
"There is no casualty or injury to anyone in the incident," the official said.
The fire broke out in the UPS system of the computer room on the first floor around 11.45 pm on Monday, with the smoke making its way up to the higher floors, the officials said.
The windowpanes on some of the upper floors were broken to let the smoke out and prevent any suffocation incidents, they said.
The patients evacuated included 34 from the intensive care unit (ICU) and 80 pregnant women. Fifty-six babies and 17 undergoing treatment in the paediatric ward were also moved to safety.
Fire tenders were immediately pressed into service and brought the blaze under control after some time, the officials added.
The fire and emergency services and the disaster management departments, police and the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research's (PGIMER) own emergency response system immediately swung into action after the fire was reported.
PGIMER and disaster management department officials said all the patients were immediately evacuated and shifted to safe zones and relocated to other wards.
"We evacuated 424 patients. We have an extension building in Nehru Hospital where some of them were shifted. Everyone worked as a team in PGI with the Chandigarh Union Territory administration's support," PGIMER Medical Superintendent Vipin Koushal told PTI.
"There was no loss of life. But damage to property has taken place due to the fire and restoration work is being started," he said.
According to a statement issued by PGIMER during the day, the fire occurred in the computer room of Nehru Hospital's C-Block. The reason of the fire is believed to be a short circuit, it said.
The C-Block houses a dialysis unit, adult kidney unit, renal transplant unit, male and female medical wards, gynaecology, maternity, nursery and neonatal ICU, bone marrow transplant and operation theatres that function round-the-clock throughout the year, it added.
"As soon as the incident occurred, security officers, fire officers and staff members including faculty, residents, staff nurses and subordinate staff of PGI got into action and all the patients from these areas were rescued and shifted to the safer areas," said the statement.
Sources said though initially the fire triggered panic among the patients and their attendants, authorities quickly swung into action and brought the situation was brought under control.
PGIMER Director Prof Vivek Lal, senior faculty members, the medical superintendent and administrative officers reached the spot immediately. The PGIMER's fire and engineering wings also swung into action to provide the support required for patient care, it said.
A disaster management department official said, "All patients were safely evacuated. We cleared the ICU, respiratory ICU ... Our rescue team worked in coordination with the police, the fire department and PGI departments."
The smoke and heat spread to the corridors due to which the patients from the adjoining areas' advanced urology centre and male surgical ward were also shifted to safety to avoid any sort of suffocation incident, according to the statement.
The patients were shifted to two different areas of Nehru Hospital and its extension block.
The authorities also moved the patients admitted in the adjoining wards and corridors to other wards or ICUs to avoid any untoward incident as the smoke spread.
The evacuation was done within 60 minutes and there was no loss of life. Around 2 am, all the services related to patient care were mostly restored, the statement said.
Director Lal has instructed the engineering wing for immediate restoration of the affected areas.
The statement said the areas affected will require major repairs and operation theatres and other facilities are expected to be made functional as soon as possible. At present, alternative arrangements have been made in other areas of the institute, Advanced Trauma Centre and the extension block.
A 14-member committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Dean (Academic) Prof Naresh Panda to ascertain the exact cause of the fire and work out an action plan to avoid such incidents in the future, the statement said.
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Mamata visits Bhabanipur EVM strong room, warns against counting irregularities
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee early Friday warned against any attempt to tamper with the counting process, hours after she visited an EVM strong room in Bhabanipur, alleging possible malpractice.
Banerjee, who emerged around 12:07 am after spending nearly four hours at the counting centre for her Bhabanipur constituency housed in Sakhawat Memorial School in south Kolkata, said only one person would be allowed inside the designated counting area.
"Either the candidate or one agent can stay upstairs. I have also suggested installation of a CCTV camera for the media," she told reporters.
Stressing the need for transparency, she said, "It is essential to maintain transparency. People’s votes must be protected. I rushed here after receiving complaints. The central forces initially did not allow me to enter."
Sounding a stern note ahead of the May 4 counting, she added, "If there is any plan to tamper with the counting process, it will not be tolerated."
On Thursday evening, Banerjee had reached the Bhabanipur Assembly segment counting centre, which houses the strong room for EVMs used in the April 29 polling, citing suspicion of tampering with the machines.
She entered the premises along with her election agent and remained inside for hours, even as Kolkata Mayor and TMC candidate from the Kolkata Port segment Firhad Hakim reached the spot but could not meet her.
"I reached here upon learning that the chief minister has arrived. But I couldn’t meet her since she was already inside the premises, exercising her right as a candidate to visit strong rooms. I wasn’t allowed there. I will not be able to confirm what exactly is transpiring inside," Hakim said.
The development coincided with protests by TMC candidates Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja outside the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra in north Kolkata, where they staged a sit-in alleging irregularities and possible tampering of EVMs stored in strong rooms, leading to face-offs between TMC and BJP supporters.
Earlier in a video message, Banerjee had urged party leaders, workers and polling agents to maintain a 24-hour vigil on EVM strong rooms, alleging that the BJP could attempt to tamper with the machines before counting begins.
Her remarks come amid heightened political tension in the state following a fiercely contested Assembly election, with parties closely monitoring arrangements and raising concerns over transparency.
