68 patients evacuated after fire breaks out at Safdarjung hospital’s HDU

Although the fire was small one and was doused quickly using the fire safety equipment available in the hospital building itself, the smoke caused by it had engulfed the HDU and the two adjoining wards because of which the patients had to be shifted, the fire officials said.

A fire broke out in the high dependency unit (HDU), or step-down intensive care unit, on the first floor of Safdarjung hospital early Wednesday, triggering panic for a brief period and leading to the evacuation of eight patients in the HDU and 60 other patients in the two adjoining wards, fire officials said. No casualty or injury was reported in the incident, the first responders added.

Fire service officials said no casualty was reported in the incident. (ANI)

Although the fire was small one and was doused quickly using the fire safety equipment available in the hospital building itself, the smoke caused by it had engulfed the HDU and the two adjoining wards because of which the patients had to be shifted, the fire officials said.

“The fire broke out around 6.15am in the high dependency unit 11 in the H block of the hospital. It was most likely caused by high voltage fluctuations triggering a short-circuit,” said hospital spokesperson Poonam Dhanda.

The HDU is meant for patients admitted to the medicine department of the hospital who are in need of constant monitoring and some life-support.

Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg said the fire control room was alerted at 6.35am. “It’s a three-storey block and the fire was on the first floor. A total of nine fire tenders were rushed from Safdarjung, Bhikaji Cama Place and other nearby fire stations. The fire was doused and patients shifted to other wards with the help of the hospital staff,” said Garg.

The visuals from the fire spot shared by the fire department showed beds and medical equipment in the affected wards covered by a thick layer of soot but no major visible damage.

Assistant divisional fire officer Vedpal Chhikara, who was leading the rescue efforts, said the fire had originated in one of the ventilators in the HDU where eight patients were undergoing treatment. There was smoke all over the HDU but nearly 20 hospital employees, including the nursing staff, ward helpers and security guards, quickly responded to the emergency situation and began shifting patients to other wards, said Chhikara.

“The hospital staff and our firefighters lifted patients using the bed sheets and shifted them to other wards about 20 metres away on the same floor. There were 30 patients each in the two adjoining wards. They were also safely evacuated and shifted to other wards. Things were under control within half an hour,” said the fire officer.

In a statement issued in the afternoon, the hospital authorities said “regular fire drills in the hospital with cooperation from the fire department helped in managing the situation”.

In another incident, a fire broke out at a three-storey ready-made garments godown in east Delhi’s Raghubarpura Part-2, near Gandhi Nagar, on Wednesday morning, fire and police personnel said.

Fire chief Garg said 15 fire tenders were sent to the spot to douse the flames. The fire was controlled within an hour but the cooling operation continued till late afternoon.

Deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) R Sathiyasundaram said the fire was on the first, second and third floor of the building. “No casualty was reported. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained,” he said.