Major fire in SCB hospital, 60 cardiac patients escape unhurt

At least 60 cardiac patients of SCB Medical College and Hospital here had a miraculous escape when a major fire broke out in the cardio-vascular department of the Hospital on Tuesday afternoon.

Three fire tenders took more than one hour to bring the blaze under control but not before it completely gutted one of the duty rooms located on the second floor of the building.

Eye-witnesses said columns of smoke emerged from the duty room around 3 pm and it soon spread to an adjacent ward and the ICU which housed around 60 patients at that time.

The panic-stricken patients were immediately shifted to the ground floor by their respective attendants. The entire three-storeyed building of the department had no in-house fire-fighting measures when the mishap happened.

While it is believed that the fire was caused by a short circuit, the District Magistrate Nirmal Chandra Mishra has ordered an administrative probe into it. “Thankfully, all the patients are safe and their treatments have resumed immediately after bringing the situation under control,” Mr. Mishra said.

Health Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Naik, health secretary Ms Arati Ahuja and the local legislator visited the hospital and took stock of the situation.

Fire mishaps due to electric short circuit are not uncommon in the government hospitals of the State. Such mishaps have recently happened in the neurology department of SCB hospital, nearby cancer hospital and Sishu Bhawan, the paediatric hospital of the city.

It is also equally appalling as to how the State fire service department, which show its supremacy over the private hospitals for slightest aberration in fire safety measures, turns a blind eye to the glaring defiance of the government hospitals.