Fire breaks out at five-storey hospital in UP's Bareilly; patients safely evacuated 

Bareilly, Aug 29 (IANS) A fire broke out on the top floor of the five-storey Navodaya Hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly on Saturday morning, sending thick smoke through the building and triggering panic among patients, their attendants and hospital staff. As the fire alarm went off, relatives rushed to evacuate patients from the wards and hospital staff also moved critically-ill patients out of the building on stretchers as rescue efforts began, officials said.

According to the rescue officials, the fire reportedly broke out around 10 a.m. in a room on the top floor, at a time when the hospital was crowded due to OPD hours.

They said around 100 patients and attendants were present in the ICU and other wards when the incident occurred, raising concerns over the safety of those inside the hospital.

Police and fire brigade teams reached the hospital shortly after receiving information about the blaze and immediately began rescue and firefighting operations. The fire was brought under control within around 30 minutes, officials said.

As a precautionary measure, the hospital administration arranged ambulances and shifted all patients to nearby hospitals after the fire broke out.

A short circuit in the MCV box is suspected to have triggered the blaze, following which smoke began spreading through different parts of the building.

Fire alarms went off on every floor, causing panic among patients, attendants and hospital employees.

However, officials said an investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of the fire and establish how the blaze started on the top floor.

This comes close on the heels of a devastating fire that broke out in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the District Women's Hospital in Maharashtra's Amravati during the early hours of August 24. Three infants suffocated to death due to heavy smoke, while six others are currently undergoing treatment at a local Super Speciality Hospital.

The tragic event has sparked intense outrage and raised severe questions regarding the emergency preparedness of the medical facility. Despite the building being newly constructed -- inaugurated just a year ago by the late Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar -- the automated fire suppression system reportedly failed to activate. Authorities are investigating whether the ventilator that exploded was outdated, poorly maintained, or suffered from a critical technical failure.

--IANS

sd/rad