Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh): One person died after fire broke out in the ICU of the Trauma Centre due to short circuit at Jayarogya Hospital (JAH) in Gwalior on Tuesday.
According to information, the incident occurred in the morning due to a short circuit in the panel AC. It caused panic among staff and patients, leading to an emergency evacuation.
It was later discovered that several fire extinguishers inside the ICU were expired, with some lacking stickers indicating refill and expiry dates.
A patient from Shivpuri district lost his life during the incident, reportedly due to a lack of oxygen. JAH Dean Dr R K S Dhakad has ordered an investigation into the negligence.
At the time of the fire, there were 10 critical patients in the ICU. Medical staff and patient attendants worked together to evacuate the patients and used the fire extinguishers to control the flames. Although the extinguishers were expired, they helped prevent the fire from spreading further. The fire brigade arrived after the flames were brought under control.
Relatives of the deceased patient from Shivpuri claim that the lack of oxygen during the fire led to his death.
Dr Dhakad stated that an interim ICU was quickly set up, and all patients were shifted there. He also mentioned that the deceased patient was referred from Shivpuri Medical College and was already brain-dead, but the fire incident could not be taken lightly.
He has ordered a thorough investigation and issued a notice to the concerned officials regarding the expired fire safety equipment.
