Odisha hospital fire: Sprinkler valve and fire alarm were shut, finds probe

BHubaneswarThe devastating discharge at the psychic trauma centre ICU at SCB Medical College and infirmary in Cuttack betimes mon exposed a cascade of failures — from a disabled sprinkler system to defunct smoke detector system, according to a preliminary probe by a committee of officials.The committee headed by state development commissioner DK Singh and comprising officials from public health department, electricity department as well as medical education and training visited the hospital on Monday afternoon before submitting its report to the chief minister on Tuesday.A member of the probe team said the ICU’s automatic sprinkler system failed to activate as its control valve had been left closed while the fire alarm system had also been switched off for several days. The probe found that the fire originated from two of the ventilator machines in the ICU that mechanically assists breathing for critical patients.“Two ventilators machine and the beds nearby were completely gutted due to short circuit. The fire soon spread and filled the room with smoke turning the patients who were dependent on oxygen supply into sitting ducks. As almost all the patients were semi-conscious there is little they could do,” said a member of the probe team. The team also found that though the fire began around 2:35 a.m., but the fire brigade near the hospital received a call at 2:58 a.m.“Precious time was lost by the time the fire brigade could reach. Though the flames were brought under control quickly, by then thick smoke had filled the ICU and begun spreading to other floors of the building, forcing staff to evacuate patients from nearby wards,” said a member of the team.Eight of the victims were from Odisha, while one each had traveled from neighboring West Bengal and Bihar for treatment.For the families gathered outside, however, the night unfolded in confusion and terror as most had either been asleep in corridors, on verandahs, or in open waiting areas when panic began spreading through the hospital. Some woke to shouts and others to the sound of hurried footsteps. Within minutes, relatives of critically ill patients were running from ward to ward, desperately shouting the names of their dear ones, searching for faces, hoping that their loved ones had somehow been saved.“My brother was on ventilator support, but he was recovering well,” said the younger brother of Ramesh Parida, one of the deceased. “Doctors had told me he would be taken off life support soon. But today, when I started searching for him after the incident, I found his body lying on a stretcher in the medicine department, he said.For Krushna Ballav Das, a lawyer from Balasore, the tragedy unfolded even more suddenly. He had brought his 27-year-old son Koushik to the hospital from Balasore after a road accident left the young man with a serious head injury. “He was getting better,” Das said. “When I woke up in the morning and heard about the fire, I rushed here and have not found my son so far.”A family member of one of the deceased said, “I had admitted my maternal grandfather here ten days ago. He underwent surgery and was being treated well. I brought everything required from outside, including blood for his treatment. The doctor had said he would need a final unit of blood this morning, but then this incident happened.”