Fire breaks out at Civil Hospital, staff battle flames for hours

Panic spread in the Amritsar Civil Hospital today morning after a fridge kept at a blood bank situated next to the children’s ward caught fire.

Seeing situation getting out of control, alert staffers broke glass windows to let the smoke out and moved 15 children from the ward to a safer place. All children were rescued without injury.

With the help of fire extinguishers, the hospital staff managed to bring the flames under control.

Civil Surgeon Dr Dhawan said a fridge caught fire due to a short circuit. Other electrical equipment also suffered minor damage, he said.

Hospital employee Manjinder Singh, who helped control the blaze, said, “The fire was spreading fast and children’s lives were in danger. We immediately began rescue work and somehow managed to save the patients.” He added that the staff collected fire extinguishers from all floors and fought the flames for nearly an hour.

Vandana, another staffer, said she and others ran upstairs as soon as they heard about the fire. “We all worked together, broke windows and tried our best to stop the fire from spreading. It took us about two hours to control it,” she recalled.

Senior Medical Officer Dr Rashmi said the hospital staff had recently been trained in fire safety, which helped them act quickly. As it was early morning, both night and day-shift employees were present, making the rescue easier, she added. By the time fire and emergency services teams reached the spot, the hospital employees had already brought the situation under control.