Delhi: Fire breaks out at two Lajpat Nagar hospitals, none hurt

The presence of emergency vehicles as well onlookers led to traffic snarls on the Ring Road and in Lajpat Nagar for at least half-an-hour, police said

A major fire broke out at a two-storey building housing an eye hospital in Lajpat Nagar along the Ring Road on Wednesday morning, police officers and fire officials said. They said that there were no patients in the building when the fire broke out, and the few staffers who were present at the time escaped without injuries.

Firefighters at the site of the blaze on Wednesday. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

Police said the fire then spread to an adjacent building that also houses an eye hospital — owned by the same person — but patients there were evacuated in time.

The presence of emergency vehicles as well onlookers led to traffic snarls on the Ring Road and in Lajpat Nagar for at least half-an-hour, police said.

According to fire officials, the blaze broke out on the ground floor of the building housing the children’s wing of the Eye 7 Hospital in Lajpat Nagar at around 11.15am. The building also has commercial offices as well as residential units, fire officials said.

They said the hospital doesn’t have beds and only performs minor procedures, and there were no patients present at the time of the incident.

“Initially, we sent six fire tenders, and then 10 more were sent to douse the blaze. The fire was controlled by 12.50 pm. According to our inquiry, the fire started due to an electric spark in the air conditioner,” said Delhi Fire Services (DFS) chief Atul Garg, adding that the building did not need a fire no objection certificate (NOC) since it was only seven metres high — short of the nine metres height at which an NOC is mandatory.

Deputy commissioner of police (southeast) Rajesh Deo said both hospitals have permission for only 10 beds under the Delhi Nursing Home Registration Act, and their permits are valid till 2027.

“Patients at the two hospitals are admitted only for short stay. About 15 patients were present at the second hospital for OPD consultation and four patients for surgery. They were evacuated immediately without any loss to life,” Deo said, adding that the fire NOC for the second hospital is valid till next year.

HT reached out to the owner of the hospitals, but calls and messages went unanswered.

Residents of the first building, meanwhile, claimed that it took DFS officials around an hour to arrive at the spot.

“The fire started at around 11 am and the fire brigade came at noon. We escaped using the stairs just in time... No fire officials helped us. At least seven to eight vehicles in the building’s basement were damaged in the fire,” Utkarsh Tiwari, a resident, said.

Fire officials, however, denied the allegations, said that there was no delay in sending fire tenders, and 50 people were evacuated in time.

The fire also resulted in traffic snarls in Amar Colony, Lajpat Nagar, and on the Ring Road due to the fire tenders and ambulances rushing to the scene. A traffic police officer said there was a delay of 20-30 minutes in vehicular movement on the Ring Road and slow movement around Amar Colony. Normal traffic flow was resumed by 1pm when fire tenders left the spot, said police.

This is the third hospital fire in the past three weeks. On May 26, a massive fire at a nursing home in Vivek Vihar resulted in the death of six infants. The fire led to an audit by the Delhi government at all hospitals and nursing homes in Delhi. On May 28, a fire broke out at the Eye Mantra hospital in Paschim Vihar. Nobody was injured and only medical equipment and ACs were damaged in the fire.