Mumbra hospital fire: Quick thinking saves 9 lives

The charred premises of the hospital. The fire is suspected to have occurred in the meter room on the ground floor. Pics/Sameer Markande

At least four people, including a senior citizen, were killed when a massive fire engulfed the Prime Criticare Hospital at Kausa in Mumbra, early on Wednesday. Fire officials said the fire started in the hospital's meter room on the ground floor. Before the firemen arrived at the scene, a lawyer residing nearby rushed to rescue the patients. He broke open a window on the rear of the hospital and helped evacuate nine patients, one of whom died later.

A policeman inspects the burnt Prime Criticare Hospital

The fire broke out at 3.40 am and was controlled within two hours by 5.30 am. There were no Coronavirus patients in the hospital, officials added. More than 20 patients admitted to different wards were evacuated, according to the Thane police and fire brigade officials.

Local MLA and Housing Minister Dr Jitendra Awhad who had rushed to the spot said, "The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. The police and the local municipal corporation will give the details soon. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was informed late in the night. The family of each deceased will be given a compensation of Rs 5 lakh and those injured will get Rs 1 lakh each and a high-level inquiry committee has been constituted to find the cause of the fire," he said.

Advocate Farhan Ansari shows the window through which he entered the Prime Criticare Hospital at Kausa

"Locals helped very much in shifting the patients before the official machinery arrived. The fire started in the material kept near the meter room on the ground floor. The smoke and the fire spread up from there to the first floor. Four people admitted to the ICU have died. They didn't die of the fire but while being shifted to another hospital. Of the 14 other patients, those who were well enough were shifted to other hospitals and the rest were discharged," said chief of Thane Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) Santosh Kadam.

"The fire was extinguished early, but the smoke and suffocation led to issues," local Senior Inspector Madhukar Kad said.

Lawyer saves eight

A quick decision of not waiting for the fire brigade and breaking open the grill on the backside of the hospital instead, saved eight lives.

Advocate Farhan Ansari, 29, who is observing daily fasts amid the month of Ramzan lives in a building next to the hospital. He had woken up to have his pre-dawn meal (sehri) and was about to sleep off when he heard the screams for help from the hospital and saw the smoke.

Farhan Ansari also moved the oxygen cylinders kept outside the hospital

"I heard people shouting for help and rushed towards the window to check. Seeing the smoke coming out of the hospital, I immediately rushed," said Ansari.

Ansari said it was difficult to enter the hospital from the front side as the fire was intense. "I went behind and had to break the grill and glass door. A nurse told me there were many patients stuck inside along with relatives. Waiting for the fire brigade to come meant losing their lives. I decided to go inside and rescue as many as I could before the fire brigade came," said Ansari.

Ansari managed to rescue nine patients of which one died after being shifted to a nearby hospital. "It was all dark. All I knew was these patients were critical, gasping for breath and were on oxygen. With the help of others, I managed to rescue nine of them. It is sad that one of them died," said Ansari. He also shifted the oxygen cylinders lying at the backside of the hospital. "There were around 35 oxygen cylinders. On priority, we removed the cylinders. It could otherwise have been more disastrous," said Ansari.

3.40 am
Time when the fire occurred

14
No. of people who survived the incident