Cuttack: Forty-five patients, including 17 newborns, were evacuated after a fire broke out at a private hospital in Purighat area of Odisha’s Cuttack city on Saturday afternoon.
According to preliminary information, smoke was spotted on the third floor of Trisha Child Care at Telenga Bazaar under Purighat police limits in the city at around 4.30 pm. Fire services personnel soon launched an operation to extinguish the blaze and rescue the patients stuck in the building. Fire fighters were seen bringing down the patients with the help of ladders.
While the exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, electric short circuit is suspected to have led to the mishap.
Later speaking to the media, Cuttack Collector Arindam Dakua informed that the 17 newborns have been shifted to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Post Graduate Institute of Paediatrics (Sishu Bhawan) and as many adults to SCB Medical College and Hospital (MCH) here. “There are three children among those shifted to SCBMCH. Total 34 have been admitted to government facilities. We are trying to collect information on the remaining 11 patients perhaps admitted to private hospitals in the city,” he said.
When asked about the blaze, the Collector said that safe transfer of patients was a priority for them and their health condition is being closely monitored. “Preliminary investigation is on. We will give details about the incident after checking the papers of the hospital,” he added.
The manager of the private hospital, Gyanendra Samal, however, said that there was no fire in the ICU. “We were able exhaust the blaze which had erupted due to a short circuit in the air-conditioner in the office using fire extinguisher, but the smoke quickly spread to other parts of the facility,” he said, adding that the patients were safely evacuated.
Barabati-Cuttack MLA Sofia Firdous, who visited the spot, said installing fire safety equipment is not enough, it is also important to ensure that these are in working condition. “I will raise this issue in Vidhan Sabha as it has become a recurring problem and ensuring safety of patients in hospital is paramount,” she added.
