What happened: Fire broke out at SUM hospital because of which 20 people were killed and more than 50 people were injured
Who is involved: Patients of the Sum hospital
When did it take place: 17th October, 2016
Where did it take place: Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
Why did that happen:
The cause of the fire is a short circuit, it seems, by initial analysis which started in the intensive care unit (ICU) or the dialysis ward of the Sum hospital located in the capital city of Odisha.
It began in the evening at around 7:30 pm which spread to the entire floor in minutes. There were 7 patients and 11 patients admitted in the dialysis and the ICU wards, respectively.
It seems many of the patients died because of smoke inhalation and asphyxiation (due to the lack of oxygen). The ones who were injured were shifted to other nearby medical facilities and hospitals.
The fire fighters mentioned that many employees of the hospital and patients tried to jump out of the windows of the hospital in a bid to save themselves from the fire but were prevented in doing so by the police because it would lead to more panic and confusion. There were more than 120 fire fighters who arrived as soon as possible to stop the fire from spreading and help the people inside the hospital.
The site was visited by the chief minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik and he has ordered the Revenue Divisional Commissioner to make an enquiry into this issue and prevent it from happening again.
The prime minister, Narendra Modi tweeted regarding this incident expressing anguish and assured the CM of all the help that he would require from him.
3 officials have been suspended – the manager, the electrician, and the fire officer for negligence on their part.
Since this is the second incident in six months, the fire services DGP of the state, Binoy Behera ordered a safety audit of all the hospitals in the state.
Prevention is definitely better than cure – and all the hospitals and other institutions must make note of this. Fire drills and fire safety equipment must be installed in each and every premises of the buildings and this helps prevent incidents like these.
