A fire incident occurred in Ward No. 1 of the Orthopaedic Department at Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital (Mayo) at around 1:30 pm on Tuesday. The fire originated in Room 34, where 25 patients were present at the time. Smoke engulfed the entire ward, but thankfully, no injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is believed to be a 'short circuit'.
As per the received information, a fire incident occurred in Ward No. 1 of the orthopaedic department within Mayo's surgical complex, specifically in Room 34 which is adjacent to a dressing room where patients undergo plastering. The incident took place suddenly around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday when smoke started emanating from the room. The doctors and nurses promptly alerted the security guard. The fire was confined to burning mattresses and wires within the room. To ensure safety, the power supply to the ward was immediately cut off, and the staff effectively extinguished the fire using fire extinguishers. Although the smoke temporarily disrupted patient care, the situation was brought under control.
The ward was accommodating a total of 250 patients who were undergoing treatment, fortunately, none of them experienced any adverse effects due to the fire. However, the unexpected occurrence of the fire instilled fear among the patients. It is worth noting that a similar incident of a 'short-circuit' fire had previously taken place in the neonatal intensive care unit of the pediatric department. The timely response of the nurse during that incident had successfully saved the lives of 10 newborns.