BHOPAL: The fire tragedy at Kamla Nehru hospital in Bhopal that claimed lives of several kids could have proved more devastating had the saviours not risked their lives in entering the SNCU ward and shifting the kids to a safer place in the hospital.
There were a few nurses, junior doctors and other staff members who fainted in the process and were later admitted to the hospital for treatment.
Ratnesh Tiwari, 28, an outsourced employee who mans the Help Desk at the Casualty on the ground floor of the hospital, was one of them. He had to be admitted to the hospital after he fainted while rescuing children from the dark, smoke-filled SNCU. He was discharged on Wednesday.
Tiwari told the Free Press that he was on duty when he received calls that a fire had broken out on the third floor.
Ratnesh Tiwari admitted to Hamidia Hospital after he fainted while rescuing children from the dark, smoke-filled SNCU on November 8. | FP
“I immediately informed the Security Officer Ravi Gupta and both of us began climbing the staircase leading to the third floor. On the way, we met panic-stricken parents rushing downstairs, holding their babies in their hands. When we reached the third floor, there was chaos all around,” he said.
Tiwari said he called up a friend, Danish, in the fire brigade. The firemen rushed to the site. Tiwari helped them lay pipes to pump water into the Unit. He started breaking window panes from a rod to improve ventilation. He entered the SNCU, which was dark and filled with dense smoke. He started picking up kids and shifting them to the nearby PICU. “After some time, I felt giddy and collapsed. Someone shifted me to the casualty,” he said. He regained consciousness after an hour. He was told that his blood pressure had shot up and his blood oxygen level had dipped to 75.
Dr Raghuraj Singh Rajput was on duty when the incident took place . He made efforts to save the lives of several kids. |
Reena Ningwal, 29, a nurse, was on duty at the SNCU. “Fire broke out before my eyes. A doctor fetched a fire extinguisher and the flames were doused. But the real trouble began after that. Someone cut off the power supply. It turned dark and smoke rising from the doused fire rapidly started filling the entire place. “We started shifting the children to the PICU. I don’t remember how many children I shifted. I have very hazy memories of what happened,” she said. Reena, too, fell unconscious soon after and had to remain hospitalised for two days.
Sudipta, a nurse with 14 years experience, was on duty at the Paediatric Medicine Ward on the fifth floor of the hospital building on the day. “My duty begins at 8 pm. But even before I could reach my ward, I heard a commotion on the second floor. I rushed there. Smoke and darkness had reduced visibility to almost zero. I somehow reached the door of the SNCU but they wouldn't allow me inside,” she said.
Sudipta then went to the PICU, where the rescued kids were being shifted. “The children were turning cold. We wrapped them in sheets and cotton. Some were put on oxygen,” she said. Then it was decided to shift the rescued children to her ward. “We started shifting the children. Once they reached my ward, we put them on drip. It was very satisfying to see that they had survived the ordeal,” she said.
Similarly, Dr Raghuraj Singh Rajput on duty when the incident took place made efforts to save the lives of several kids.
