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Chandigarh: Another fire at PGIMER in week, no casualty
According to PGIMER authorities, the incident took place around 9.25am, peak OPD hours, when the building was bustling with patients and their attendants. The basement of the AEC houses the uninterrupted power system (UPS) room and also has the electrical department offices and a 11 KV sub-station
In the second such incident in a week, fire broke out in the basement of the Advanced Eye Centre (AEC) of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, on Monday morning. As a precautionary measure, the building was immediately vacated and patients moved out. No injury or loss of life was reported. An inquiry has been initiated into the incident.
According to PGIMER authorities, the incident took place around 9.25am, peak OPD hours, when the building was bustling with patients and their attendants. The basement of the AEC houses the uninterrupted power system (UPS) room and also has the electrical department offices and a 11 KV sub-station.
As per information, the fire started with a spark in UPS room, where around 68 batteries were stored, and eventually spread. A security guard spotted the smoke and promptly raised the alarm. Over 600 people, including patients and their attendants, were moved out of the building as a safety measure.
For safety purposes and due to smoke engulfing the building, the OPD services were suspended for two hours. However, after assessing the situation, the OPD services were restored.
A patient who was prepared for surgery said “I was on the verge of having surgery when the security evacuated us.”
“The operation theatre was shut for a day and surgeries will be rescheduled,” said Dr SS Pandav, head of the department, Advance Eye Centre.
The UT fire department officials in Sector 11 told that they responded to a fire call at around 9:48am, and in accordance with their standard operating procedures, they left the fire station within 30 seconds. Although three fire tenders reached the scene to extinguish the flames, they were not deployed as the fire was brought under control within 15 to 20 minutes using PGI’s mini-fire tender.
Sprinklers failed, security forced to break door
An electricity department staff member, preferring to remain anonymous, explained that as he was exiting the 11 KV sub-station in the basement, he noticed the smoke. He mentioned that the security didn’t have access to the room’s key, leaving them with no alternative but to forcefully open the door.
He went on to explain that they attempted to extinguish the flames using fire extinguishers, as direct water contact with batteries was not advisable, but their efforts were unsuccessful. Subsequently, they managed to cut off the power source by the time the fire trucks arrived, allowing them to bring the fire under control.
Additionally, he pointed out that the sprinkler system was non-functional. A fire officer from UT also confirmed that the sprinklers failed to activate due to lack of maintenance.
Batteries will be sent for testing
An official from the biomedical department responsible for battery maintenance mentioned that they would send the batteries for testing due to suspicions about a sub-standard batch.
On October 9 night, a major fire occurred in the 60-year-old Nehru Hospital basement that led to the evacuation of 424 patients, including pregnant women, newborns and patients in need of critical care. In that incident, three floors of the building were affected due to the fire.
