Tragedy averted as 26 patients rescued in nick of time after fire in Delhi nursing home

All the patients, and around 50 members of the hospital staff were rescued in a 45-minute-long firefighting and rescue operation carried out by 30 firemen involving eight fire tenders.

Twenty-six patients, including 17 infected with Covid-19 and some of them on oxygen support, were trapped after a fire broke out late Tuesday night in UK Nursing Home at Vikaspuri, fire and police officials said. The medical facility was recently converted into a Covid hospital.

30 firemen and 8 fire tenders were involved in the rescue operation. source: delhi fire services

All the patients, and around 50 members of the hospital staff were rescued in a 45-minute-long firefighting and rescue operation carried out by 30 firemen involving eight fire tenders. Three serious Covid patients who were on ventilator support in the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) were immediately shifted to two private hospitals in west Delhi – Kalra and Central – in ambulances, said fire official and the hospital administration.

“As water was dripping in the ICU from the roof, we removed three Covid patients as a precautionary measure. Two were shifted to Kalra hospital while another patient was sent to Central hospital. The fire started in the first floor store room, where administrative records were kept. All patients are safe and they were shifted to ground and second floors,” said Pankaj Maini from UK Nursing Home’s administration department.

Delhi Fire Services (DFS) chief Atul Garg said the fire control room received a call around 11pm that a fire has broken out in the hospital, and people were trapped inside.

“Immediately, eight fire tenders were rushed to the hospital. The building has a basement, ground, and two upper floors. The fire originated in the storeroom on the first floor. While the flames were seen only on the first floor, the smoke had engulfed the entire hospital building,” he said.

Since it was a Covid hospital, the firemen were divided into four different teams – one to douse the flames and three others to rescue the patients and hospital staff.

None of the rescuers wore PPE kits since it catches fire easily. The firemen wore the regular uniforms, helmets with face shields, and eyeglasses and masks, said assistant divisional officer (DFS) Bhupender Prakash, who was leading the teams.

According to Prakash, the firefighting team entered the hospital building through the main gate, and reached the first floor using a ladder installed on the porch. The patients on the first floor were immediately evacuated, and water was sprayed to douse the flames. The glass windows towards the front portion of the building were broken for ventilation.

The fire officer said that there were six patients in the ICU on the ground floor, right below the first floor store room where the fire broke out. The water used to douse the flames started dripping inside the ICU from the roof. All the six patients were evacuated. The false ceiling of the ICU collapsed soon after all the patients were taken away safely, he said.

“The members of our rescue teams evacuated patients from the ground and second floors, as well with the help of the hospital staff. We used the stretchers and wheelchairs to move the patients to safe places. Within 45 minutes, the fire was controlled while the entire operation continued till 1am on Wednesday,” said Prakash, adding that they found fire fighting equipment such as fire extinguishers in the hospital.

The firefighters said that though they knew they had Covid patients inside, they knew they must carry out the rescue operation. All firefighters were properly sanitised after the rescue operation, and their uniforms were discarded.

“We take calculated risk as saving lives is the top priority of fire fighters even in situations where there are chances of getting infected from Covid or other virus. As a precautionary measure, for two days we isolate the firefighters who were directly exposed to Covid patients, and watch their health condition,” DFS chief Garg said.

Meanwhile, the ministry of home affairs has asked all the states and Union territories to ensure that no fire incident occurs in any of the health facilities (particularly Covid-19 dedicated facilities).

The ministry has taken cognisance of fire incidents, caused by short circuits, in hospitals and nursing homes in the last few days across the country.

In his letter to the states and UTs, Union home secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla said that in the context of recent fire incidents, and particularly in view of the impending summer season, it needs to be highlighted that either because of high temperature, lack of maintenance or high load on the internal wirings within facilities, short circuits take place, leading to fire incidents and consequential loss of life and essential infrastructure.

Fifteen patients died after a fire broke out on April 23 at Vijay Vallabh hospital in Virar, Mumbai. On April 25, 3 patients died in fire at hospital in Gujarat’s Surat.

The ministry of home affairs has asked the states/union territories to conduct a detailed review with officials from the health, power and fire departments, and prepare a detailed plan of action to ensure that fire safety measures are in place in all hospitals and health facilities.