New Delhi | A fire broke out in the endoscopy room on the second floor of the old OPD building of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here on Monday. All patients were safely evacuated, officials said.
No casualties were reported in the fire, the cause of which is still to be ascertained.
Incidentally, the AIIMS had ordered a third-party fire safety audit of its premises on August 3. The audit by the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) is currently underway.
Hospital sources said the fire forced the suspension of endoscopy, emergency and diagnostics services in the old OPD building. However, in the evening they said that "emergency services are in the process of being restored".
Visuals from the spot showed black smoke billowing out of the windows at noon.
In a statement, AIIMS said security and fire control rooms were informed when news of the blaze on the second floor of the old Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur OPD in the main AIIMS building was received at 11.35 am.
"The fire was controlled immediately by AIIMS Fire Services. Subsequently, the fire tender staff of the Delhi Fire Services arrived. They supported the cooling off process," the statement said.
Fire department officials, however, said the blaze erupted around 11.55 am. Thirteen water tenders were pressed into service and the fire was brought under control around 1 pm, they said.
AIIMS sources said water from the hospital's underground tank was also used to douse the flames.
Police teams also arrived at the spot after receiving information about the
fire and cordoned off the area.
A senior doctor said, "When the fire broke out, two patients were undergoing a procedure in the endoscopy room. These two patients along with around 80 others in the waiting area were evacuated." Another doctor added that 31 other patients, including six in the ICU, were shifted from the AB 2 ward to other wards. Doctors, nursing staff and guards broke some of the glass windows on the second floor to allow the smoke to escape.
Around 70 patients from the paediatric and adult emergency wards on the ground floor were also evacuated as smoke filled the area. Some of the patients were shifted to the nearby Safdarjung Hospital.
According to the sources, the second-floor orthopaedic operation theatre was functional at the time of the fire and patients had to be evacuated from there as well.
"All surgeries in the operation theatre had been completed except in operation theatre 2 where surgery was underway. Extra manpower was called in for timely completion of the surgery and all patients were evacuated on time," the source said.
Police and fire services teams inspected the spot and found that the blaze originated in the store room on the second floor. The room had been closed for a long time, a senior officer said, adding that police and other emergency services contained the blaze without any injuries or casualties.
An audit will be conducted to assess the damage, another official said.
According to an AIIMS statement, no casualties or injuries were reported and efforts are underway to restore normality in medical services at the earliest.
On August 3, an order by the Department of Security at AIIMS said the Union Health Ministry's National Guidelines for Fire Safety in Healthcare facilities mandates hospitals to undertake comprehensive fire safety audit involving a third party.
"Accordingly, it was decided in the meeting held under the chairmanship of the director that AIIMS-New Delhi shall undergo a third-party fire safety audit," the order stated.
"The CBRI, one of the suggested organisations by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, agreed to conduct the third-party fire safety audit," it added.
