The CDA Fire and Disaster Management has released its report on the fire that broke out at the children’s nursery ward of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad.
According to the CDA report, the fire may have been caused by an electrical short circuit or plug overloading. The fire emergency call was received at 6:54am, while the first fire tender and rescue van reached the scene within six minutes.
The report said 19 people, including seven children, were safely evacuated from the nursery ward. Those affected included seven children, 10 women and two men. However, seven children lost their lives in the PIMS nursery fire, according to the CDA report.
The CDA found that fire and life-safety arrangements in the nursery ward were inadequate and did not meet required standards. The report further revealed that the emergency exits of the nursery ward were permanently locked from outside and obstructed, affecting evacuation and life-saving measures during the fire.
However, while the CDA report points to locked exits, hospital security and poor safety arrangements, it offers no explanation of its rescue response and the alleged failures that delayed efforts to save the newborns.
The firefighting operation involved six CDA fire tenders, six ambulances and one rescue van. A total of 44 operational personnel and six officers, including a water bowser team, were deployed for the operation.
Teams from G-10, I-9, G-5 and Fire Headquarters (FHQ) also reached the site to assist in the emergency response.
Fire breaks out on third floor
According to the Islamabad district administration, the fire erupted on the third floor of the Mother and Child Hospital’s MCH ward.
Rescue teams were dispatched immediately after receiving information about the incident. Six fire brigade vehicles and four ambulances participated in the rescue operation.
The fire was brought under control and the affected children were shifted to the intensive care unit. However, 14 newborns could not be saved.
Serious questions over fire safety
The tragedy has also raised serious questions about fire-safety arrangements at the hospital.
Rescue sources described the hospital’s fire-safety arrangements as inadequate, saying there was reportedly no water available at the fire point and that couplings were missing from the fire hose.
The sources also alleged that emergency evacuation routes had been locked.
According to rescue sources, no doctors, ward boys or other staff members were present inside the incubation centre when the fire broke out.
Parents also alleged that staff members were absent from the incubation centre at the time of the incident.
Malik Israr, whose niece was admitted to the gynaecology ward, told Dawn that renovation and repair work was ongoing in the building.
He said patients were asked to vacate the building after the fire erupted, forcing women who had recently given birth to rush down the stairs.