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Hospitals and relevant authorities across Punjab have been directed to take fire safety measures, with provincial chief executive Maryam Nawaz instructing a fresh audit of arrangements at healthcare facilities.
The directives have been issued after a deadly fire killed 14 infants at Islamabad’s Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) on Wednesday. The fire broke out on the third floor of the Mother and Child Hospital’s ward, and preliminary details indicate that a spark in the air conditioner led to the fire.
Witnesses said they waited hours for help from the emergency services, were forced to smash through windows to try and get to the neonatal intensive care unit and came across locked doors. Authorities, however, insist otherwise.
On Thursday, the Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) issued urgent directives for the effective implementation of fire safety measures in public and private hospitals across Punjab.
