Jaipur hospital fire: ‘Did not pay any heed; were first to run,’ allege kin, say staff ignored warnings as 6 patients die

Six critical patients were killed in a fire at the trauma centre of a Jaipur hospital that was started by a suspected short circuit. While some of the patients in the ICU where the blaze took place were rescued, families of the deceased patients have alleged that the staff did not pay any heed to their warnings.

Attendants of two patients told Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel and Minister of State for Home Jawahar Singh Bedham, who were visiting the trauma centre, that their warnings were ignored. They alleged that the staff fled during the fire and also that they are unable to locate their patients.

"We noticed smoke and immediately informed the staff, but they did not pay any heed. When the fire broke out, they were the first to run. Now, we cannot get any information about our patients. We want to know their condition, but no one is telling us," one attendee said.

Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma also visited the trauma centre along with Patel and Bedham. CM Sharma has ordered an investigation into the incident. A committee to be chaired by Commissioner of Medical Education Department, Iqbal Khan, has been announced for the investigation. 

This committee will investigate the causes of the fire, the hospital management's response to the fire, the firefighting arrangements at the Trauma Centre and SMS Hospital, the safety and evacuation of patients in the event of a fire, and the measures to protect the hospital from such fires in the future and prevent recurrence, and submit a report.

A ward boy, Vikas, however said that he along with other staff members rescued as many patients as they could. "We were inside the operating theatre when we heard about the fire, so we immediately rushed to rescue the people inside the centre. We managed to save at least three to four patients. However, as the flames intensified, we could no longer go into the building. We did our best to rescue as many as we could," he said.

What happened

Trauma centre in-charge of the state-run Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital in Jaipur, Dr Anurag Dhakad, said 11 patients were being treated in the Neuro ICU when the fire erupted in the storage area, originating from a short circuit.

The deceased were identified as Pintu (from Sikar), Dilip (from Andhi, Jaipur), Shrinath, Rukmini, Khurma (all from Bharatpur) and Bahadur (from Sanganer, Jaipur), officials stated. Two of the deceased were women and four men. 

"Fourteen other patients were admitted in a different ICU, and all were successfully evacuated to safer locations," said Dr Dhakad.

The fire created chaos in the building and the smoke spread throughout the floor, causing panic among the patients and their families. 

The blaze destroyed documents, ICU equipment, blood sample tubes, and other items stored in the area. Some of the patients were transported with their beds to outside the building. 

Firefighters arrived soon after being alerted and managed to bring the fire under control in about two hours. When the fire team arrived, the entire ward was filled with smoke, and firefighters had to break a window on the opposite side of the building to begin extinguishing the fire.

The police reached the site later but could not enter the building immediately due to heavy smoke.