ISLAMABAD: A fire that broke out in the nursery of the Maternity and Child Health Centre at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) early Wednesday has raised serious questions over the hospital’s fire safety arrangements and the presence of staff when the incident occurred.
Rescue sources said the hospital’s fire safety arrangements were found to be extremely poor. They said fire hoses did not have couplings, there was no water available at the fire point and some emergency evacuation routes were reportedly locked.
Sources said there were also questions about the availability of doctors, ward boys and other staff in the incubation centre when the fire broke out. Some parents alleged that no staff member was present in the nursery at the time of the incident.
The parents demanded a transparent investigation into the deaths and said they wanted clear information about how their children died.
“We were only told that our children had died,” some parents said, expressing concern over the lack of information about the incident and the condition of the bodies.
An affected woman said no doctor or staff member came to them for about an hour. She questioned why there were not enough doctors or other staff members present to respond immediately when the fire broke out.
According to rescue sources, the fire emergency call was received at around 6:45am. Firefighters and rescue teams reached the site within about seven minutes and brought the fire under control before it could spread further. Cooling and an initial assessment were also completed.
Initial reports about the cause of the fire have differed. Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, after visiting PIMS, said the fire was caused by a short circuit and spread because of gas lines, plastic equipment and the presence of oxygen.
He said most of the children died from smoke inhalation and suffocation.
However, Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal said the fire started after an air-conditioner compressor exploded in the neonatal intensive care ward. He said the presence of oxygen intensified the fire.
Mustafa Kamal said 14 newborn deaths had been confirmed. However, the hospital administration said 16 newborn babies were present in the nursery when the incident occurred. One baby was rescued by a lady doctor, while 15 newborns reportedly died.
The conflicting figures and different accounts about the cause of the fire are expected to be clarified through the official investigation.
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Mustafa Kamal said that if negligence was found to have caused the incident, those responsible would face strict action. He said even if he was found responsible for any lapse, he would not be spared.
The minister said the hospital lost power soon after the fire broke out and staff members went to call the rescue teams, but the fire spread rapidly. He said firefighting equipment at the hospital was operational, but added that PIMS was working beyond its capacity and that the public hospital system in Pakistan was not ideal.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif summoned an emergency meeting over the incident. Relevant officials and heads of concerned institutions were called to the Prime Minister’s House.
