Three newborn babies died in this tragic incident.
AMRAVATI: A massive fire broke out in the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) in the new building of the District Women’s Hospital here at around 3.30 am on Monday.
Four of them are undergoing treatment, and the condition of one baby is said to be critical, doctors said. Three newborn babies died in the tragic incident. After the fire broke out, hospital staff rushed to safely evacuate the other babies. The fire was brought under control immediately. This Special Newborn Care Unit was started in the new building just a year ago. Premature, low-weight and critically ill babies are treated here. However, questions are being raised as to why the hospital’s fire-fighting system did not get activated after the fire broke out. The incident has raised questions over the emergency safety arrangements at the hospital. Three babies died in the tragic incident, while some babies were shifted to the nearby Divisional Referral Service Hospital (Super Speciality) for further treatment.
The three units together have a capacity to treat 39 newborns, with 13 babies in each unit. Unfortunately, three babies died due to suffocation caused by the smoke. In the early hours of Monday, a ventilator in the Special Newborn Care Unit suddenly exploded. A fire broke out thereafter and spread rapidly. However, hospital staff immediately started shifting the other babies in the ward to safety. The fire broke out on the third floor of the District Women’s Hospital. There are a total of three Special Newborn Care Units at this location. One of the units caught fire. There were a total of nine babies in this unit. As soon as the fire was noticed in the Special Newborn Care Unit, the nurses and health staff on duty rushed in and pulled the babies out.