Fire Breaks out at Medanta Hospital Indore

Indore: A fire broke out at the Intensive Care Unit of a Medanta hospital, resulting in a narrow escape for over a dozen patients including three on ventilator on Sunday evening. 

The incident took place around 6PM in the Medanta hospital, as a thick smoke filled the ICU room due to the fire leading to panic among the attendants of the patient. 

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Alleging that the fire alarm didnt work, an eyewitness told the  Times of India that the attendant of a patient immediately informed the guard of the hospital about the fire, however the hospital fire alarm didn't bell. Whereas, the hospital officials said that the fire alarms informed he control room, following which the fire safety team rescued the patients from the ward.

The eyewitnesses said that the situation in the hospital was nice untill the patients were shifted to other ICU. The hospital superintendent stated that the fire came from an electric board near one of the beds in the ICU located on the fourth floor, reports the Free Press Journal. He said that the fire occurred due to short-circuit in the ICU. 

An eyewitness said that the fire broke out in the electric socket of the dialysis machine on bed number 8 in the ICU after which smoke emanated in the ICU.

Talking about the incident, a patients' attendant said, " My mother was on a ventilator in the ICU at the time of the incident. Smoke engulfed the ICU and it all turned dark. For once, I had lost hope as it was hard to breathe. Hospital staff shifted my mother to the ICU on the third floor."

A family member of another patient added, "I was in the waiting area on the third floor of the hospital. I saw smoke in the ICU on the fourth floor and I ran and informed hospital staff. I was visiting my brother who is admitted to the hospital."

The hospital superintendent told TOI, "The patients were immediately shifted to other ward including couple of those on ventilators. All are stable." adding, "The fire systems helped in providing early information about incident and the patients were rescued, immediately. We have one of the best fire systems."

The media were permitted to visit the hospital premises by the authority. The district administration directed an investigation into the incident. ADM Pavan Jain said, "A team including myself is inspecting the spot under the enquiry ordered. A report will be submitted to collector."

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