Islamabad: A female security guard and a nurse rescued the only surviving newborn from the PIMS neonatal nursery moments after fire and thick black smoke filled the room, but an explosion during their attempt to return for other babies made further rescue impossible, hospital officials said on the basis of CCTV footage and staff interviews.
The female guard, whose identity has not been disclosed, was posted outside the nursery to prevent theft or unauthorised removal of newborns. Officials said a nurse inside alerted her that a fire had started, prompting the guard to immediately pick up a baby lying in the cot nearest to the entrance and rush outside.
They said the nurse also tried to assist in the rescue, but as staff members attempted to reach other children, an explosion occurred inside the oxygen-supported neonatal nursery, forcing them back as flames and soot spread rapidly through the room.
Fourteen newborns died in the fire at the Maternal and Child Health Centre of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on Wednesday morning, while one child was rescued. Hospital authorities maintain that the babies died after inhaling soot, the thick black smoke and fine burnt particles produced during a fire, rather than from burns.
The fire broke out at around 6:38am on the third floor of the MCH Centre, where 15 newborns were present in 10 cots, warmers and incubators, officials said.
Four staff members, including a postgraduate trainee, a house officer and two nurses, were inside the nursery when the fire began. All suffered smoke inhalation injuries while trying to respond to the emergency, according to officials.
One of the doctors suffered internal respiratory-tract injuries after inhaling soot, while the faces and hands of other staff members were blackened by the smoke, they said. The officials maintained that the speed with which smoke engulfed the enclosed nursery left little time to take out the remaining babies.
Newborns are shifted to the neonatal nursery after delivery, particularly following Caesarean sections, when they require warming, observation, oxygen support or help with breathing because of premature lungs and other medical complications. Their mothers visit the nursery to feed them.
Officials clarified that the babies in the affected room were not admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit or high-dependency unit of the MCH Centre, but were being kept in the nursery for post-delivery care and monitoring.
PIMS Executive Director Dr Rana Imran Sikandar told Vitals News that all 14 bodies remained identifiable because the children had died of soot inhalation injuries and had not been charred beyond recognition.
“All the bodies were identifiable. Their identification tags were intact, and the children were properly handed over to their parents according to the record,” he said.
Dr Sikandar said DNA testing was not required because the wrist identification tags and hospital records enabled the administration to establish the identity of every child.
In its preliminary statement, PIMS said a spark inside the nursery triggered the blaze, which spread quickly in the oxygen-supported unit. However, the exact cause of the fire, the reported explosion and any safety lapses are being investigated by a high-powered committee constituted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.