ISLAMABAD: A deadly fire that killed 14 infants at one of Pakistan’s largest hospitals has exposed serious shortcomings in fire safety and emergency preparedness, putting renewed scrutiny on safety standards at the country's public institutions. An interim government inquiry into the Aug 26 blaze at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) found that the neonatal nursery where the infants died had no fire alarm or sprinkler system. Investigators also found there was no approved and rehearsed evacuation procedure specifically for the nursery. The findings were detailed in a statement from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office following an investigation he ordered into the tragedy.
They have intensified calls for accountability, particularly after the inquiry revealed that another fire at PIMS just weeks earlier had already exposed deficiencies in fire detection, alarms and evacuation preparedness. The Aug 26 blaze broke out in the early morning and spread rapidly through the hospital's third-storey neonatal nursery. Fifteen babies were being cared for there. Staff managed to rescue only one. “It was a horrific scene that cannot be described,” said Rana Arif, who was at the hospital because his sister was undergoing an operation. Arif told CNA he helped women who had just given birth onto stretchers. “Most of the women’s stitches had opened and they were bleeding,” he recalled of the harrowing experience. HERO NURSE HONOURED The only newborn to survive was saved by nurse Razia Noreen, who ran into the burning nursery and carried the baby to safety.She tried to return to save more babies but was unable to do so as the fire spread too quickly. Noreen told the Associated Press that she was heartbroken she could not save the others and had struggled to sleep as memories of the tragedy continued to haunt her. She had been widely praised online and Prime Minister Sharif said she had displayed exceptional courage and devotion to duty by risking her life. Noreen will receive the Sitara-i-Khidmat, or Star of Service, one of Pakistan's most prestigious civil awards, as well as 10 million Pakistani rupees (US$36,000).INQUIRY FINDS FAILURESWhile investigators have yet to establish the precise cause of the fire, the interim inquiry identified multiple failures in the hospital's preparations for an emergency. Besides the absence of alarms and sprinklers in the nursery, investigators found that emergency services were not contacted until six minutes after the fire began. The first emergency responders arrived 15 minutes after receiving the call. The findings have drawn further scrutiny because PIMS had experienced a previous fire in July. That blaze, at the hospital’s nursing hostel, had already exposed deficiencies in fire detection, alarm systems, evacuation preparedness and security response, the inquiry found. The hospital administration failed to take the necessary steps following that incident, the report added.
