Minor fire at Chembur hospital, alert staff avert major tragedy

A minor fire broke out at the Sushrut Hospital in Swastik Park, Chembur, around 1 pm yesterday. The incident occurred at a time when the dismantling work of the chimney on the terrace was in progress. Soon after the ventilator on the third floor of the six-storeyed hospital building started emitting smoke, the hospital staff adhered to the fire drill and brought almost all the patients to the safety of the ground floor.

The hospital staff shifted the patients to the ground floor of Sushrut Hospital as soon as the fire broke out

Hospital officials claimed that the fire was brought under control before it could cause any major damage. Four fire tenders that reached the spot managed to extinguish the fire within 15 minutes. After the 2011 AMRI Hospital fire incident in Kolkata, which claimed 89 lives, hospitals all over the country were ordered to follow fire safety regulations.

Director of Administration for the hospital Patrick Pratap

About 50 patients were in the hospital when the incident occurred, of which three were in the ICU. While most of the patients were brought to the safety of the ground floor, ICU patients were kept in the ward. Besides, about six patients were immediately shifted to the ICU after the fire broke out. Only the third floor was damaged in the incident.

Director of Administration for Sushrut Hospital Patrick Pratap said, "The hospital staff controlled the situation before the firefighters reached the spot. We followed the fire drill and ensured that our patients were safe." Sources claimed that a patient was undergoing chemotherapy session on the third floor when the fire broke out. The hospital officials said that the patient was immediately rushed to the adjacent unit to avert any untoward incident.u00a0