Bhandara Fire: Most of the infants choked to death, says hospital staffer

First spotted smoke in the adjacent room, where 10 infants were under observation

Even as the hospital and district administration claim that a short circuit led to the fire in the Special Care Newborn Unit (SCNU) of Bhandara Civil Hospital, which killed 10 infants in the early hours of Saturday, the police have roped in a high-level committee to probe the incident further.

The night duty nurse inside the neonatal care unit, which is fully air-conditioned

Confirming the development, Vasant Jadhav, Superintendent of Police, Bhandra district, said, "We have asked an expert team from three different agencies - National Fire Service College (NFSC) in Nagpur, Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT) and forensic scientists from Directorate of Forensic Science Laboratories in Nagpur-to visit the site. They will collect samples and conduct a detailed probe."

For now, the police have registered an accidental death case under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). "We will wait for the expert committee's report to decide on further probe, if any."

According to a staffer at the hospital, while seven newborn underweight infants were kept in the incubator, 10 infants, who were under observation, were in the adjacent room. "The parents of these infants are not allowed in the SCNU, and hence, were not present at the time of incident," the staffer said.

The incident took place in
the early hours of Saturday morning. "The night duty nurse inside the neonatal care unit, which is fully air-conditioned, spotted smoke in the adjacent section. She immediately alerted superiors, and the fire department was rushed to the spot, but it was too late," said the staff.

The 10 infants, who lost their lives, choked to death. The remaining seven infants in the neonatal units were saved by the hospital staff, and have been shifted to nearby centres. "The incident happened in the old building, and most patients from the adjacent labour room, and wards, including those on dialysis, were shifted in the nick of time, averting any major disaster," said another hospital staffer, who did not wish to be identified.

District civil surgeon Dr Pramod Khandate was not available for comment. MV Deshmukh, former Director, Maharashtra State Fire Services and adviser to state government, said that incident could have been avoided.

Deshmukh, who had spoken to some of the fire-fighters, said that prima facie it seems that the short circuit happened close to a bed in the outborn section and it suddenly spread to the other bed. "As per my information, three out of the 10 infants who died, had minor burn injuries, whereas seven others choked to death. It is unfortunate that the said SCNU ward did not even have any smoke detector or smoke alarm," he said.

Deshmukh claimed that the reason for the toxic fumes could be the sub-quality material used for making beds and linen, and other inflammable material kept inside the ward. "The fire broke out in a small area, but it was the thick toxic fumes that spread faster. An adult gets asphyxia by inhaling toxic fumes within 60 to 90 seconds, after which the brain cells get deprived of oxygen, resulting in coma and death. Infants do not even have developed lungs, which resulted in immediate death."