Smoke triggers panic at children's nursery

A short circuit in the children's nursery at Rawalpindi Teaching Hospital (RTH) caused smoke to spread through the facility on Thursday, triggering panic among staff, visitors, and patients' attendants at the hospital.

The smoke, however, prompted a swift response from the hospital's fire safety team. The incident occurred shortly after the tragic incident at Islamabad's Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).

The fire safety team immediately disconnected the electrical supply and launched emergency measures, bringing the situation under control without any loss of life or injury

RTH Medical Superintendent Dr Ikramullah Niazi personally supervised the emergency response and restoration of the electrical system in the nursery. He said the hospital had a highly active fire safety team which responded immediately, disconnected the power supply and completed the emergency operation within a short time.

The MS further said no child, doctor or nursing staff member was harmed and the treatment services in the nursery were restored shortly afterwards. Niazi said further safety measures had also been ordered to prevent such incidents in future.

A Rescue 1122 team also reached the hospital, but the situation had already been brought under control by the time it arrived.