Disaster averted: Quick response of firefighters prevents a tragedy at hospital

NMC’s basement caught fire because of short circuit.

KARACHI: A fire broke out in the basement of the National Medical Centre (NMC) on Korangi Road early Tuesday morning. But thanks to the quick action of firefighters, the flames were doused quickly and no major injuries occured.

The fire erupted at around 9am and a thick cloud of smoke spread to the ground and first floors of the building. This caused quite a lot of panic and people clambered on to the roof of the building, fearing that the fire had spread to the upper floors of the building. A fire brigade and volunteers from different welfare organsiations assisted in dousing the fire using two fire tenders and a snorkel.

“Although the fire occurred in the basement, the smoke spread rapidly through the building giving the impression that the entire building was on fire,” a fire brigade official, Adil Farooqui, told The Express Tribune. “This is why some people were afraid of going in to the building to assist in the rescue of people trapped inside.”

A number of family members of people trapped in the building rushed to the hospital and gathered outside as news of the fire hit the airwaves. “If they [firefighters] had not arrived on time, we would not have survived,” said a woman, Imrana, whose two-year-old boy was one of the patients rescued from the hospital.

“The fire broke out in the ultrasound lab and then spread to other areas in the basement, a member of the hospital’s administration told The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity. “This is the first time that such an incident has happened. An inquiry is underway.” He said the fire fighting equipment was present on site, which hints at the fact that there might have been negligence on the part of the staff or lack of training to operate the equipment. Three of the hospital’s staff members were injured during the incident. The fire brigade was able to douse the flames within an hour. Around 18 patients were shifted to other hospitals. “The majority of the patients came to Jinnah hospital and National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases,” said Dr Seemi Jamali, the director of emergency services at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. “These were regular patients and we accommodated all of them.”



DSP Altaf Hussain said that the fire broke out because of a short circuit and no loss of life was reported. A case has not been registered as the fire occurred by accident, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2013.