A blaze that started on the first-floor balcony of the ESI Hospital in Sealdah around 5.30am on Friday allegedly caused a patient’s death and forced the evacuation of 90 others.
Uttam Bardhan, 54, who may have been suffocated to death by the smoke, had been admitted on September 1 with advanced-stage cancer. A post-mortem will be held on Saturday to establish the cause of death.
As power was cut off in keeping with fire-fighting protocol and darkness enveloped the building, firefighters lifted the patients using their bedsheets and took them out using the stairways.
Witnesses described scenes of panic as flames engulfed the building in a throwback to the devastating AMRI Hospital fire in Dhakuria that claimed 93 lives 13 years ago.
All the patients except for Bardhan were rescued despite alleged failures in the ESI building’s fire-fighting systems. “There were hose pipes but no water. Their in-built fire-fighting system did not work,” said a senior officer with the fire department who had monitored the rescue operation.
The Bengal government runs the daily operations of the hospital and its officials are state employees. However, the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), under the Union ministry of labour and employment, is responsible for the maintenance of the hospital, which includes maintaining its fire-fighting systems.
The medical superintendent of the hospital, Aditi Das, told The Telegraph that the establishment of the fire safety mechanism had been outsourced to an agency that did not complete the job. “We have informed the authorities about this (unfinished work),” she said.
Of the 90 patients who survived, 48 were shifted to the ESI Hospital in Maniktala. Some others were accommodated in the Sealdah ESI Hospital’s high-dependency unit while some opted for early discharge. The majority of those rescued from the APC Road building were elderly, bedridden patients, some of them terminally ill.
The deputy commissioner of police (eastern suburban division), Gaurav Lal, said a case of negligence had been filed against the agency hired by the ESIC based on the complaint of the medical superintendent-cum-vice-principal.
The police have also filed a case of unnatural death after receiving consent from Bardhan’s family. Bardhan had been admitted to the oncology wing on the second floor, just above the floor from where the fire started.
“He did not have any burn injuries. We have advised his family to opt for a post-mortem if they have doubts about the cause of his death. Otherwise, it is not possible to ascertain if his death was related to the fire,” said medical superintendent Das.
Bardhan’s daughter said the family was not in a position to talk to reporters. “The police have advised us to do a post-mortem,” she told this newspaper on Friday evening.
A balcony on the first floor that had the outdoor units of several air-conditioners is the suspected source of the inferno, fire department officials said.
“The fire possibly originated from the AC units. It spread to the pieces of furniture and mattresses kept near the balcony. The burning mattresses generated a lot of smoke,” an official said.
Ten fire tenders were pressed into action.
Bengal’s minister for fire and emergency services, Sujit Bose, visited the spot on Friday morning and said all the patients were rescued on time.
“A forensic team will visit the spot. A portion of the hospital will be made operational as early as possible. Necessary precautions will be taken so that there is no further incident,” Bose said.
He stressed that though the state runs the hospital, its maintenance is the Centre’s responsibility.
Hospital officials said the outpatient department (OPD) would be operational from Saturday. “Electricity has been restored in that part so that the OPD can be made operational from tomorrow,” Das said.
The police have sealed the remaining portions of the building for a forensic examination.