Safety precautions: Two staffers injured in fire at DHQ Hospital
Rescue official highlights need for fire safety training to avoid such incidents.
RAWALPINDI:
Two employees of District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) Rawalpindi sustained burn injuries after a fire broke out in a dressing room in the outpatient ward on Saturday morning.
The fire broke out in the room at around 9:30am but no loss of life was reported.
Faheem Shah, a hospital employee, told The Express Tribune that the fire erupted when a man tried to light a gas heater that had been placed near a container of surgical spirit. The fire engulfed the room and the two employees, identified as Muhammad Jabar and Samia Bibi, sustained injuries. Both were rescued by other staffers and given immediate treatment for their wounds.
He said that the fire did not cause much material loss as it was immediately brought under control by hospital employees.
Samia, was initially in critical condition but had been upgraded to ‘stable’ when this report was filed. Jabar was said to have 40 per cent burns.
Shah said that the injured were admitted to the intensive Care Unit (ICU). He told The Express Tribune that the patients were now out of danger.
Shah said that the fire could have caused a significantly higher number of injuries but “fortunately there were only a few people in the outpatient ward” at the time. He said this was due to the fact that most of the roads leading to the hospital were blocked due to Chehlum processions.
Meanwhile, another employee of the hospital said that the incident was due to lack of proper safety precautions.
He said that although some fire extinguishers are available, few hospital employees actually know how to use them.
Rawalpindi DHQ Hospital Medical Officer Dr Nasir Mehmood said that fire extinguishers were installed in the hospital and paramedics were also trained to operate them.
He said that the victims were rescued thanks to the extinguishers.
Not an isolated incident
While talking to The Express Tribune, Rescue 1122 Spokesperson Muhammad Waqas said that such events have become a daily routine because of the lack of public awareness.
He said that millions are spent on the constructions of plazas, buildings, and hospitals, but no one bothers to ensure standard operating procedures relating to fire safety are followed. He said that a fire extinguisher costs only three to four thousand rupees.
Waqas said it was necessary to control fires at the very beginning to avoid major losses as a fire with a fuel source could reduce the contents of room to ash within three minutes.
He said that proper arrangements such as installation of fire extinguishers was imperative and should be the first step before constructing or planning any building, otherwise even the best fire service could not do anything to protect people.
Waqas further said that multiple fire extinguishers should be installed in every hospital and all employees should know how to operate them.
He said that the government should provide regular training to hospital employees on the use of these instruments.
“We confront such situations on a daily basis. People had face huge losses of life and property, but no one worries about why this happening and how can we avoid such tragedies,” Waqas said.
He said that though fire extinguishers were installed in some hospitals, they were poorly maintained and mostly out-of-order, while staffers were usually clueless on how to operate them.
“There is no point in installing fire extinguishers when you do not know how to use them,” Waqas remarked.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 14th, 2014.
Two employees of District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) Rawalpindi sustained burn injuries after a fire broke out in a dressing room in the outpatient ward on Saturday morning.
The fire broke out in the room at around 9:30am but no loss of life was reported.
Faheem Shah, a hospital employee, told The Express Tribune that the fire erupted when a man tried to light a gas heater that had been placed near a container of surgical spirit. The fire engulfed the room and the two employees, identified as Muhammad Jabar and Samia Bibi, sustained injuries. Both were rescued by other staffers and given immediate treatment for their wounds.
He said that the fire did not cause much material loss as it was immediately brought under control by hospital employees.
Samia, was initially in critical condition but had been upgraded to ‘stable’ when this report was filed. Jabar was said to have 40 per cent burns.
Shah said that the injured were admitted to the intensive Care Unit (ICU). He told The Express Tribune that the patients were now out of danger.
Shah said that the fire could have caused a significantly higher number of injuries but “fortunately there were only a few people in the outpatient ward” at the time. He said this was due to the fact that most of the roads leading to the hospital were blocked due to Chehlum processions.
Meanwhile, another employee of the hospital said that the incident was due to lack of proper safety precautions.
He said that although some fire extinguishers are available, few hospital employees actually know how to use them.
Rawalpindi DHQ Hospital Medical Officer Dr Nasir Mehmood said that fire extinguishers were installed in the hospital and paramedics were also trained to operate them.
He said that the victims were rescued thanks to the extinguishers.
Not an isolated incident
While talking to The Express Tribune, Rescue 1122 Spokesperson Muhammad Waqas said that such events have become a daily routine because of the lack of public awareness.
He said that millions are spent on the constructions of plazas, buildings, and hospitals, but no one bothers to ensure standard operating procedures relating to fire safety are followed. He said that a fire extinguisher costs only three to four thousand rupees.
Waqas said it was necessary to control fires at the very beginning to avoid major losses as a fire with a fuel source could reduce the contents of room to ash within three minutes.
He said that proper arrangements such as installation of fire extinguishers was imperative and should be the first step before constructing or planning any building, otherwise even the best fire service could not do anything to protect people.
Waqas further said that multiple fire extinguishers should be installed in every hospital and all employees should know how to operate them.
He said that the government should provide regular training to hospital employees on the use of these instruments.
“We confront such situations on a daily basis. People had face huge losses of life and property, but no one worries about why this happening and how can we avoid such tragedies,” Waqas said.
He said that though fire extinguishers were installed in some hospitals, they were poorly maintained and mostly out-of-order, while staffers were usually clueless on how to operate them.
“There is no point in installing fire extinguishers when you do not know how to use them,” Waqas remarked.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 14th, 2014.