Karachi: An official fire safety audit has found exposed wiring beside oxygen lines, active gas leaks, ageing air-conditioning units and a non-functional alarm system in neonatal intensive care units at the National Institute of Child Health.
The report warned that the simultaneous presence of electrical faults, leaking oxygen, poor ventilation and inadequate firefighting arrangements could allow even a minor spark to trigger a rapidly spreading fire.
The audit was conducted on August 28 on the directives of the deputy commissioner, South Karachi, two days after a fire at the PIMS Mother and Child Centre in Islamabad killed 14 newborns.
Representatives of the assistant commissioner’s office, Rescue 1122 and Civil Defence jointly inspected the neonatal ICUs, patient areas, emergency routes, electrical installations and medical gas supply points at NICH.
According to the report, electrical points and oxygen pipes had been installed extremely close to each other within the same wall panels in the neonatal ICU. Exposed electrical wires were found immediately beside oxygen outlets at several locations, creating a serious fire risk in the event of sparking.
The inspection team also recorded multiple complaints of oxygen leakage and observed gas escaping from a line supplying an incubator. Tape had been wrapped around joints in an oxygen pipe, indicating that temporary repairs had been used instead of a permanent solution.
The neonatal ICU’s mechanical ventilation system was found non-functional, forcing the hospital to rely on windows for ventilation. The report warned that continuous oxygen use and leakage in an enclosed area could cause oxygen to accumulate and accelerate a fire.
Several air-conditioning units were found to be old and connected through exposed or temporary wiring, with some electrical joints secured using tape. Water leaking continuously from the units had damaged walls containing electrical and oxygen installations.
Missing or displaced ceiling tiles had also left dusty and unsecured cables exposed.
Unsafe electrical installations were found in other parts of the hospital as well. Covers were missing from distribution boards, terminals were exposed and dirty, and cloth was found inside some live electrical boards.
Several cables were hanging loosely from ceilings, with some resting directly on oxygen pipes, the report said.
The hospital’s power room was described as another major fire hazard because it was open and easily accessible to patients and visitors. Its cables were exposed and disorganised, while the ceiling was in poor condition.
No smoke detector, fire extinguisher or adequate firefighting arrangements were available inside the power room or the adjacent attendants’ waiting area.
Although smoke detectors had been installed in parts of the hospital, most were found non-functional. The main fire alarm system was also not working, while the number of available fire extinguishers was declared insufficient.
The inspection team found no fire hose system, fire blankets or respiratory protection masks. Hospital employees had not received adequate fire emergency training, while regular fire drills had not been conducted.
Emergency exits were open, but equipment and waste had been placed along evacuation routes. Illuminated signs and other clear directions needed to guide patients and staff during an emergency were also missing.
The report identified the fourth, fifth and sixth floors as the most vulnerable areas because neonatal ICU wards were located there.
These floors house critically ill newborns who cannot be evacuated without assistance, involve extensive oxygen use and could pose major evacuation challenges during a fire.
The audit also noted that NICH had experienced at least two fires in recent years.
A fire on June 30, 2026, caused considerable damage to an intensive care unit on the third floor and forced the transfer of patients, while a newborn died in January 2020 after an incubator caught fire, which initial police investigations attributed to a short circuit.
The assistant commissioner’s report concluded that several conditions capable of causing a major fire were present simultaneously in the neonatal ICU.
It listed exposed and damaged wiring as a potential ignition source, oxygen leakage as an accelerant, ageing AC units, inadequate ventilation, ineffective detection systems, insufficient firefighting equipment, untrained staff, obstructed exits and patients unable to evacuate independently.
The report said the conditions identified at NICH bore similarities to the circumstances surrounding the PIMS fire and required immediate corrective action.
It recommended securing all exposed electrical points, distribution boards, circuit breakers and sockets, and removing taped, temporary and non-standard wiring from the neonatal ICU without delay.
All oxygen outlets, flowmeters, connectors and tubing should be inspected immediately and replaced wherever necessary, it said.
The report also called for restricting public access to power rooms, installing suitable fire detection and firefighting equipment and restoring the neonatal ICU’s mechanical ventilation system.
It recommended making the fire detection and alarm systems fully operational and obtaining a certificate confirming their functionality.
An adequate number of fire extinguishers, fire blankets and respiratory protection masks should be provided, while all ward employees should receive fire emergency training and participate in regular drills.
The report further called for the immediate removal of equipment and waste from emergency exit routes and the installation of illuminated emergency signs.
Photographs taken during the inspection were attached as evidence. Copies of the report were sent to the Karachi commissioner and the NICH executive director for immediate action.