Patients evacuated after hospital fire in Noida
NOIDA : A fire broke out in the Metro Hospital and Heart Institute in Noida’s Sector 12 on Thursday, trapping 63 patients and hospital staff in the five-storey building. There were no casualties and all patients were evacuated safely, district fire department officials said.
NOIDA : A fire broke out in the Metro Hospital and Heart Institute in Noida Sector 12 on Thursday noon, trapping 63 patients and hospital staff in the five storey building. Fire department officials said every one was evacuated to safety though the cause of the fire remained unknown.
Aman Sharma, deputy director, fire safety department, Noida police, said the fire started on the second floor of the building.“It is suspected that a short circuit in an equipment may have started the fire. A lot of papers were kept there, which aided the spread of the blaze,” said Sharma.
Some eyewitnesses said the fire started on the third floor of the hospital building.
Firefighters said the blaze was reported at 11.45am and doused by 1.30pm. Ten fire tenders and several police personnel rescued the people trapped in the building. When thick smoke hampered the rescue, fire department and police personnel broke window panes and helped patients and staff exit the building with the help of ladders. Many patients were lowered down on the ladders with a rope tied around their waist. Others, who could not move on their own were taken out on stretchers and wheelchairs.
All patients were shifted to another wing of the same hospital, Metro Multispecialty Hospital , at Sector 11, nearly 300 metres away from the site.
The district magistrate has ordered a probe into the incident. “A magisterial inquiry will be set up to probe the reason behind the fire. The committee will include senior police and administration officials. They will submit a report within a fortnight,” said BN Singh, district magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar.
A spokesperson for the Noida police said there were no casualties. “We received information around 12.20 pm that a fire has broken out in the Metro Hospital in Sector 12. Ten fire tenders were rushed to the spot. All senior police and administration officials rushed to the spot,” the spokesperson said.
Panicked onlookers caused a traffic jam and made it difficult for the fire tenders to reach the hospital, police said. “I was outside the hospital when the fire broke out on the third floor. I rushed towards the building as my wife was admitted on the 4th floor. However, due to thick smoke, we could not go beyond second floor. Firemen and hospital staff rescued her,” said Jagat Kasana, a resident of Baghpat.
A hospital spokesperson said foul play cannot be ruled out.
“There were 63 patients admitted in the different wards of the hospital at the time of the incident. All of them, including staff and other personnel, have been successfully evacuated. Foul play cannot be ruled out and needs to be probed,” said Chhaya Malhotra, spokesperson, Metro Hospital.