50 patients evacuated as fire breaks out at AIIMS

NEW DELHI: A fire broke out on the ground floor of the AIIMS trauma centre near the operation theatre area here on Sunday, forcing the hospital to evacuate more than 50 patients.

The incident triggered panic among people, including patients. No casualty has been reported in the incident, AIIMS authorities said.

A personnel from the fire unit of the hospital suffered carbon monoxide poisoning. He was incubated and shifted to main AIIMS, where his condition remains stable, a source said.

A call was received at 6.13 pm about the incident and 24 fire tenders were immediately rushed to the spot, the Delhi Fire Service said. The fire was brought under control by 8 pm and the cooling process is underway, chief fire officer Atul Garg said.

The AIIMS administration has instituted an inquiry into the matter to identify the cause of the fire, which is suspected to be due to a short circuit.

According to a source at the hospital, two patients in separate operation theatres (OTs) had undergone surgeries just half-an-hour before the fire broke out and were at the OT recovery rooms. “At the nick of time, the alert staff and doctors quickly shifted them to the emergency area,” the source said.

The electricity supply was also stopped in the building at that time, he added. The hospital source said there was also a leakage in the oxygen supply pipe behind the manifold due to which the oxygen supply to the building was stopped for sometime, which was later repaired and restored.

The extent of the damage is not yet known. Another source said the linen OTs clothes and cotton kept in the store were burnt, which led to huge amount of smoke.

Police was also called in to control the crowd, while the traffic movement on the road was disrupted for a while.