NEW DELHI: A fire broke out at a store room adjacent to an operation theatre at the trauma centre of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences on Sunday, forcing doctors and medical staff to shift some patients out to safety as a precautionary measure. No casualties or injuries were reported in the blaze, which was doused within two hours after the fire office was alerted about it.
According to police, no emergency services were affected. “The centralised supply of oxygen was closed and patients were given oxygen using a manual mode,” a senior police officer said.A fire official said a call reporting the blaze was received at 6.12 pm. “We immediately dispatched 22 tenders to the spot and the situation was under control by 8.20 pm. The fire was completely doused by 8.45 pm,” he said.
In a statement, AIIMS said around 5:45 pm, smoke was noticed in one of the stores and “the staff and doctors showed alertness and took quick action to try and douse the fire...” The AIIMS administration has instituted an enquiry to identify the cause of fire and to suggest measures for improvement.AIIMS director Randeep Guleria told The Morning Standard that similar incidents “have been reported at the administrative or the teaching block, not in the hospital area. I don’t remember the last time we had to vacate the hospital building this way.”
DCP, southwest, Devender Arya said fire safety measures at the institute are in place. “AIIMS has a well organised set of guards. They have a high security and are a responsible institute. The cause of fire hasn’t been ascertained as of now.” Meanwhile, Guleria said overcrowding at the hospital was a challenge.
“We have all safety clearances from fire department. Our fire team regularly does checkups. The main challenge is the large number of patients that we receive. Today, also there was a detailed session with the fire department after this,” he said. “It is possible that there was a short circuit. The wiring may be old. We will evaluate the cause of fire.”
He said the fire safety measures had automatically kicked into action. “A surgery had just got over in the OT which caught fire. Luckily, the patient was shifted by the time the incident took place. Nobody was in any way harmed or injured due to the fire incident. Extent of damage is not yet known and will be assessed later.”