The ICU ward of Shrey Hospital, Ahmedabad caught on fire in the wee hours on Thursday, 6th August. All eight Covid-19 patients in the ICU suffocated to death before the firemen could reach them.
The Incident
The fire is suspected to have started due to a short circuit in the ICU, located on the 4th floor, which was completely charred. The hospital paramedics tried to douse the fire but failed. Additional Chief Fire Officer Rajesh Bhatt said 35 firefighters with a hydraulic platform reached the spot within 10-12 minutes of receiving a call at 3.30 am. “We reached the fourth floor but it was engulfed in smoke and we had difficulty seeing even three-four feet away. All the eight dead seemed to have first fallen unconscious due to suffocation and then suffered heat and burn injuries.”
Follow-up
Following this, a fire safety audit was ordered into 72 Covid hospitals in the city. Many of them have been found without a NOC (No objection certificate). The evacuated patients were taken to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Hospital run by the AMC. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem. The state government had announced assistance of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of the dead and Rs 50,000 for the injured. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has ordered an inquiry.
No clearances?
The 22-year hospital was designated a Covid ward on May 16th. There were 49 patients in the 50-bed hospital, with 8 in the ICU. Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services Chief Fire Officer M F Dastur said the hospital had no fire clearance. Hospitals have to renew their fire NOC every year.
Eye witnesses
Rajendrakumar Adesara, 58, and his mother Hasuben, 82, were among the 41 patients rescued. He said he woke up to screams. “I saw a body engulfed in fire running out of the ICU. I woke my mother up and we rushed down. In the chaos, she fell, but I got hold of her,”
His brother Nitinkumar said the hospital didn’t inform them and they were made aware of the incident from the news. Many other relatives had the same complaint of not being informed.
FIR filed
A hospital director, Bharat Mahant, and an unidentified ward boy were detained for interrogation. Five days later, Mahant has been booked by the Ahmedabad police. He has been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and other sections of the Indian Penal Code. The FIR confirmed that the hospital did not have fire safety and the NOC, due to which there was no audit done by the fire safety department. “Had the audit been done, then any shortcoming in the firefighting system of the hospital could have been noticed and the lives of eight persons could have been saved. There was no system of fire alarm in the hospital”, the FIR read. There were no fire extinguishers in the ICU. The hospital has been reprimanded and held responsible for the fire due to grave negligence.