fire erupting in the PIMS incubation centre claimed the lives of 14 out of 15 newborns kept under observation, last Wednesday in the early hours of the morning. The only survivor, a baby girl, was rescued by breaking a glass window from outside, using a ladder.

One family, according to a relative, had had their baby 12 years after their marriage. Another couple had had their first baby after five years of marriage. A family lost twin babies in this tragedy.

“We tried to rescue the children on our own. We found the exits locked,” a relative of a deceased infant said, adding, “We were calling doctors and staff, but nobody was there.”

The hospital administration had a shocking justification for why the doors were locked. According to them, there had been attempts at child theft.

The bodies of the deceased children were handed over to the parents after a lot of hue and cry, without any DNA testing, the families said. The PIMS administration denied this allegation.

The hospital and the city administration said that the fire broke out on the third floor of the Mother and Child ward. “Rescue teams rushed to the scene. The fire was brought under control quickly and the remaining children were immediately shifted to the intensive care unit,” they said.

A rescue and fire safety department report of Capital Development Authority had described the hospital’s fire safety and life-protection arrangements as “inadequate.”

It said the firefighting and rescue operation faced significant obstacles. The report also found that the hospital’s fire prevention and safety arrangements were inadequate and did not meet prescribed safety standards. The hospital administration dismissed the charge.

The enormous backlash from the public and media has exposed the haphazard nature of the formation of several committees following the incident.

Many parents have demanded a judicial probe into the incident. Some have claimed that the death toll was higher than reported by the authorities. A former advocate general of Islamabad has supported the demand for a judicial commission.

A rescue and fire safety department report of the Capital Development Authority described the hospital’s fire safety and life-protection arrangements as “inadequate.”

The government first announced a committee led by a panel of district administration officials. Later, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif formed another committee to investigate the matter.

The committee nominated by the prime minister is headed by retired federal secretary Shahid Khan and includes Major General Dr Khurshid Utra (retired), Establishment Division Secretary Nabeel Awan and the Islamabad deputy commissioner.

The committee has been asked to determine the immediate cause of the fire and establish a timeline of events. The panel is also tasked with reviewing the emergency response and relief operations carried out by hospital staff and other institutions, including the Fire Brigade and Rescue 1122.

Additionally, the committee is to review fire safety infrastructure at PIMS and the extent of adherence to existing safety regulations.

The PIMS administration, too, has formed an internal committee to investigate the fire incident with similar terms of reference. The PM has changed the federal secretary in charge of health after the incident. The new secretary has set up a big tent at the hospital’s entrance to hold public hearings about the hospital system and performance.

Members of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination also visited PIMS and spoke to people. The committee noted that the nursery where the incident took place was built in 1990. They observed that there should not have been a nursery in the old building now that a newly built block was available.

“The nursery was not fit for the purpose. This was supposed to be a gynae ward. The babies should have been kept in the new block which is better-equipped,” the committee head observed.

According to some reports a fire had broken out in a nursing hostel of the PIMS. Fortunately, there was no loss of life.

The author is a staff reporter. He can be reached at [email protected].