Fire in Amravati Hospital NICU Claims Three Newborns

Three newborns died and at least 36 others were rescued after a fire broke out in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the District Women's Hospital in Amravati, Maharashtra, in the early hours of Monday. The incident occurred around 3:30 am on the third floor of the hospital, according to preliminary reports from multiple agencies, including ANI and Deccan Chronicle.

The fire is believed to have started after an explosion in a ventilator, though the exact cause has not been officially confirmed. The Hospital's Civil Surgeon, Dr Vinod Pawar, and Police Commissioner Rakesh Ola have both indicated that preliminary information points to a ventilator blast. However, fire brigade officials have suggested that an electrical short circuit might have been the cause. District Magistrate Ashish Yerekar told The Indian Express that the incident took place around 4 am.

At the time of the fire, 39 newborns were admitted to the NICU, which is divided into three sections: one for inborn babies, one for outborn babies, and one for step-down care. The fire broke out in the outborn babies' section, where nine infants were being treated. Three of these babies died, while the remaining six were rescued from the flames.

Staff and Families React to Rescue Efforts

Doctors, nurses, and other staff at the hospital launched an immediate evacuation and successfully moved 36 infants to safety. Six infants who sustained injuries were shifted to a nearby super-speciality hospital, while others were transferred to the Divisional Referral Services Hospital, where four were reported to be in critical condition.

Several nurses described the chaos and horror of the incident, saying they hurried to pull infants from the fire while the ventilator continued to burn. One nurse, Lalita Kasdekar, raised the alarm after noticing the fire, as reported by hospital in charge Dr Preeti Ingle. Another doctor, Hisham Inamdar, lost consciousness due to smoke inhalation while going in to rescue infants.<br><br>Swapnil Barge's wife was at home when the fire broke out, and his son, born prematurely, was among the casualties. "I was standing at the hospital gate around 3:30 am when I heard a woman shouting, but we weren't told anything. Then there was a commotion, and the fire brigade arrived. I kept searching for my baby and wife, but I couldn't find my son until morning, when I learned he had died," he said in an interview.

Questions Raised Over Alarm and Sprinkler System

Eyewitnesses and relatives claimed that the fire alarm did not sound and that the automatic water sprinkler system failed to activate during the incident. Some infants, including Yogesh Savarkar's eight-day-old child, were rescued by parents and security guards who rushed into the smoke-filled ward without waiting for the fire brigade.

Online reports from The Hindu and other outlets said that when the fire broke out, the fire alarm remained silent and the sprinkler did not work. Because of the failure, the fire was not immediately detected and the fire brigade was only informed later. One eyewitness was quoted as saying that the hospital's fire-fighting system did not activate, raising serious questions about emergency preparedness.<br

Government and Opposition Response

CM Announces Compensation and Inquiry

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed his sorrow, calling the incident "heart-wrenching." He announced an ex gratia payment of ₹5 lakh to the families of each deceased infant and directed that all injured children be treated at state's expense.

He also ordered a high-level inquiry. In a post on social media, he said, "The incident of the death of three children in the fire is extremely tragic and heart-wrenching. We share in the grief of their families. Orders have been issued to the health administration to conduct a high-level inquiry into this incident. The strictest possible will be taken against those responsible."

Committee Formed to Investigate

The state government has formed a seven-member committee, headed by Public Health Services Commissioner Sanjay Katkar, to probe the incident. The committee also includes a doctor from AIIMS Nagpur, and the Chief Engineer of the Electrical Department.

Health Minister Prakash Abitjar said the committee will submit its report within eight days, while district officials mentioned a seven-day timeline. The panel will examine potential faults in ventilators, electrical systems, fire safety audits, and other irregularities. Abitkar visited the hospital and flagged "grave" irregularities at the facility, which were considered to be

Political Reaction and Opposition Demands

The deaths have sparked sharp political reaction in Maharashtra, have called for a statewide fire audit of hospitals. NCP (SP) leader Anil Deshmukh criticized the government for failing to implement the recommendations following the 2021 Bhandara hospital fire incident, noting that the committee's advice ha been "gathering dust in government offices." The Home minister, Sudhir Thakur, also questioned the ventilator explosion claim, saying she sought details of the supplier.

Congress leader Harshvardhan Sapkal described the deaths as "heartbreaking and infuriating" and demanded a high-level impartial inquiry, while colleague BJP MLA Ravi Rana called attention to that a similar fire had occurred at the hospital three years ago. Anil Deshmukh also pointed to a pattern of lack in attention to healthcare safety.

BJP's Navneet Rana alleged that the hospital's sprinklers were not functional, thereby waterd to urgency, and demanded a technical investigation. She announced that no one found guilty would be spared.

Review of Fire Safety Measures Statewide

In response to the incident, the state government is working on a comprehensive safety plan for all medical facilities. Health Minister Abitkar announced that a meeting tomorrow with representatives of government and private hospitals to specifically formulate a safety plan, and that review of fire-safety arrangements would be conducted across the state.

The minister also mentioned that the contractor responsible for the hospital construction could be blacklisted if found negligent. The technical team of the ventilator supplier has been called to inspected the devices, and their statements will serve the committee's probe.