PATIENTS BATTLED ILL HEALTH, RAN FOR THEIR LIVES AS BLAZE SPREAD

Karn Pratap Singh

NEW DELHI: Seventy-six-year-old retired government school teacher Ram Singh Vashisht, from Budh Vihar in Rohini, was among 18 patients undergoing treatment at the four-storey Brahm Shakti hospital in Budh Vihar where a fire broke on Saturday morning, triggering panic and chaos among relatives and hospital staffers.

Vashisht, who was undergoing treatment for pain in the veins of his legs, and 16 other patients were evacuated on time. But 64-year-old Holi Ram, a kidney patient, was not among them. He perished in the ICU on the third floor of the hospital.

Recalling the trepidation and fear among patients and hospital staff on spotting the leaping flames, Vashisht said that unlike many patients whose relatives were with them, he was alone in his room on the first floor when the fire broke out.

“A hospital staffer screamed that there was a fire on the third floor and asked me to leave immediately. Despite having problems walking, I rushed out of the building and saved myself. I have learnt from nurses that one patient in the ICU got trapped and he died,” said Vashisht, lying on a bed in the reception of the hospital.

As the main building became a no-go zone, hospital authorities turned the front desk and reception into a temporary ward with 10 beds and three coolers, to house the rescued patients.

Nineteen-year-old Khushi, undergoing treatment for back pain, said, “My mother and I were sleeping in room 206, when a nurse banged on the door and asked us to leave as the floor above us was on fire. We took our belongings with us, but my books were left in the room. I climbed down the stairs with my mother’s help.”