LAHORE:A smoke-emitting incident in the Gynaecology Unit of Lahore General Hospital (LGH) on Tuesday briefly put patients and hospital staff at risk after a plastic ceiling fan overheated, reportedly due to an electrical fault, triggering smoke inside a ward.
The smoke that started emitting at around 5:50am, quickly spread and engulfed the entire ward, rooms and corridors within minutes. Although the situation was contained before it developed into a major fire, the presence of pregnant women and other vulnerable patients in the ward underscored the potentially disastrous consequences had the smoke turned into flames.
The incident exposed the inadequate fire-safety preparedness in large public hospitals, where a minor electrical fault can quickly turn into a life-threatening emergency for critically ill and immobile patients. The incident comes days after a devastating fire at PIMS in Islamabad in which 14 newborns reportedly died after a fire broke out in the neonatal unit. The tragedy has raised serious questions about the ability of major public hospitals to deal with fire emergencies, particularly in large, congested buildings where proper emergency exits, evacuation routes and other essential safety arrangements are often inadequate.
While there are reports that as many as 70 patients were quickly evacuated, a security guard, Hamid, reportedly became unwell during the incident and was taken to the hospital’s emergency department. His condition was later stated to be out of danger. The hospital administration said the affected room had only four beds, two of which were occupied, and rejected reports that 70 patients had been rescued. The two patients in the room were shifted to another location without harm.
Principal AMC Prof Dr Farooq Afzal, LGH MS Prof Dr Faryad Hussain and Professor of Gynaecology Dr Nudrat Sohail reached the site to monitor the situation. They informed that the hospital staff had brought the situation under control within 10 minutes. Dr Faryad said staff had undergone emergency-response training during the preceding week on the Punjab government’s directions, which helped them respond promptly. He praised security guard Hamid for helping shift the patients to safety and announced a cash reward and certificate of appreciation for him. A four-member committee has also been constituted to examine the hospital’s electrical wiring and other safety measures.
