11 patients have a narrow escape as fire breaks out in a Cuttack hospital

Extension and construction work was being carried out in Sun Hospital at Tulasipur area when the fire started on the top floor. The hospital, among the biggest nursing homes in Cuttack, did not have many patients as construction work was going on.

Published on: Feb 1, 2021, 21:20:27 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Nearly a dozen patients in a private hospital in Cuttack city of Odisha had a providential escape on Monday when a major fire broke out at the facility.

Cuttack district collector Bhabani Shankar Chayani said that an inquiry has been ordered into the incident to find out if the fire safety measures were in place at the hospital. (HT PHOTO)

Officials said some extension and construction work was being carried out in Sun Hospital at Tulasipur area when the fire started on the top floor. As smoke bellowed out, the hospital authorities shifted 11 patients out quickly. The hospital, among the biggest nursing homes in Cuttack, did not have many patients as construction work was going on.

Cuttack deputy commissioner of police Prateek Singh confirmed that there had been no casualties or injury due to the fire. The hospital is owned by one Dr Dipak Mitra.

The approach road to the hospital is quite narrow, and it created hurdles for the fire tenders, at least 5 fire tenders entered the area to put out the flames. The fire service personnel also used a hydraulic platform to carry out operations on the top floor of the building.

Maheswar Swain, director of the Odisha Fire and Disaster Response Academy said the fire service department has not granted any fire licence to the hospital. “The hospital authorities had been directed to adopt adequate fire safety measures. But they are yet to get the certificate. We could evacuate the patients safely as we had done mock evacuation exercises there earlier,” said Swain.

Cuttack district collector Bhabani Shankar Chayani said that an inquiry has been ordered into the incident to find out if the fire safety measures were in place at the hospital.

This is the second instance of fire in an Odisha hospital in less than 6 months. In September last year, 127 Covid-19 patients in a hospital of Cuttack city had a narrow escape when a fire broke out in the ICU of Sadguru Covid hospital in Jagatpur area of Cuttack. As smoke enveloped the ICU and other rooms, many patients fell unconscious.

In the largest-ever hospital fire in the state, 24 patients were asphyxiated to death in Bhubaneswar's SUM hospital when a fire broke out in the ICU, dialysis and emergency units of the hospital in October 2016.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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