Delhi hospital fire: Firefighters found crying babies and smoke all around

Since the hospital was small and could not host parents, most of them remained unaware of the tragedy that was averted.

Nineteen newborns were rescued after a fire broke out in the early hours of Friday in the basement of a four-storey building, from which a hospital specialising in neonatal care also operated, in west Delhi’s Vaishali Colony in Dabri near Janakpuri, the Delhi Police said on Friday.

A view of the hospital where 19 newborns were rescued from a fire in the early hours of the morning at Vaishali Colony, in New Delhi on Friday. (Vipin Kumar/HT)

Read here: 19 newborns rescued from blaze at west Delhi hospital after short circuit

A total of 45 firefighters in nine fire tenders were rushed to the spot, and no casualty was reported, said Atul Garg, director of Delhi Fire Services. Police said that no arrests have been made so far.

According to M Harsha Vardhan, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (Dwarka), the fire was caused by a short circuit in the basement of the building.

While all 19 babies were reported safe and were either undergoing treatment at other hospitals or were discharged, Friday morning’s fire was a close shave for them, fire officials said. “It was a miracle that all the children were rescued safely. Even a 10-minute delay, which would have been the case if the blaze occurred during the day, could have been catastrophic,” Garg said. Fire officials said even though the blaze contained itself to the basement, the building was rapidly heating up, which was a challenge for firefighters.

DCP Vardhan said that the legalities concerning the hospital’s operations were being investigated. “We have asked the hospital owner to produce the license, registration, and other documents,” said the DCP.

Garg, however, said that prima facie the hospital did not require a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the fire department.

The hospital — Nest Newborn and Child Hospital — operated out of the first floor of the building, covered an area of 180 square yards. Though the hospital did not handle childbirth, it provided neonatal intensive care units (NICU) and other neonatal services. While the basement of the building served as the office and waiting area of the hospital, the ground floor was occupied by a few shops. The top two floors served as private offices.

Meanwhile, police registered a case against the hospital owner and the building owner at Dabri police station. “The case was registered under sections 285 (negligent conduct concerning fire) and 336 (rash or negligent act that endangers human life) of the IPC,” said Vardhan.

“We lock the basement by 8pm. The hospital also had about 10 staff at the time of the incident,” said Akash Solanki who introduced himself as the owner of the building and the hospital. However, the DCP said that the hospital was owned by a doctor, Yaten Agrawal. “Our hospital was registered as per law,” said Agrawal, who did not comment further.

The call about the blaze was made at 1.35am, said Mukul Bhardwaj, station officer of Dwarka fire station. It took the firefighters five minutes to arrive at the site. The DCP said the fire was doused by 2.15am.

Fire officials said the firefighters divided themselves into two teams to douse the blaze and rescue the occupants. “The furniture in the basement was burning rapidly, leaving the lower parts of the building extremely hot,” said Bhardwaj, adding that the firefighters put on breathing apparatus before entering the hospital. The hospital staff had unplugged the medical apparatus and were breaking the window panes to escape since the main staircase was engulfed in smoke, Bhardwaj added.

Read here: Fire breaks out at west Delhi hospital; 20 newborn babies rescued

The children were moved one by one to a restaurant in the neighbouring building through a narrow gallery bridged by an iron mesh found at the hospital, said the fire officer. “Time was of utmost importance since some babies were on medical support. We reached out to different hospitals in the area and called CATS ambulances which moved the babies,” Bhardwaj added.

A dozen children were moved to a hospital in Janakpuri and two each to three other hospitals in the area. Police said two of the children were discharged soon after. Since NICU requires children to be kept in safe spaces for fear of infection, there were no parents at the time of the blaze.

“I was told about my baby being shifted to another hospital at 8am. They said there was smoke in the building,” said Vandana, the mother of a baby boy. While the police and the fire department said that they were still investigating if the layout of the building had provisions for an emergency exit, Solanki said that the rear portion of the hospital had an emergency window.