Fire breaks out at children’s ward of GTB hospital in wee hours, no casualties reported

A major fire broke out at the children’s ward of North-east Delhi’s Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) hospital, a government hospital, in the wee hours of Saturday.

According to the fire department, the incident took place at around 3.35 am at room number 1104 at the first floor of GTB hospital in the children’s ward. Six fire tenders including one Bronto skylift fire tender were rushed to the spot to douse the flames and by 4.35 am, the fire was brought under control.

Police said that although the exact reason behind the fire is yet to be established. However, in the preliminary investigation, it appears that the fire was triggered by overheating of the ventilator following which the electrical wire caught fire.

Sources, meanwhile, said that out of the total 34 children, there were 17 newborn babies present inside the ward at the time of the incident.

Earlier, in October this year, a major fire had broken out at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar which left at least 23 people dead.

In the wake of the fire tragedy at SUM Hospital in Odisha, the Delhi government has ordered a fire 

safety audit at all its hospitals and sought a report on it to ensure no such mishap occurs in the national Capital.

A senior Delhi Fire Services official said that the GTB hospital has “fire safety clearance”.

There are 36 hospitals that run under the Delhi government, with Lok Nayak Jaiprakash (LNJP) hospital being the biggest. 

Sources said that the seven-storeyed GTB hospital, with a capacity of 1,500 beds is one of the busiest in the city. Hospital authorities said: “Nearly 40 per cent of the patients come from Uttar Pradesh”.