NICU fire at MP hospital kills newborn, leaves 2 others with burn injuries

BHOPAL: A newborn died and two others received burn injuries after a fire broke out in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Chhindwara district hospital early Saturday, the police said, adding that the preliminary inquiry pointed to a short circuit in a warmer bed as the likely trigger.The fire broke out between 2am and 3am in the unit where 33 newborns were admitted.Another 30 infants were housed in a neighbouring ward. Three infants were in the same cradle at the NICU where the fire broke out, sources told TOI, adding that all three were referred to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College and Hospital in Jabalpur, but one succumbed on the way.Civil surgeon, Chhindwara, Dr Kanchan Dubey, told TOI that the deceased infant was born around 10pm on Friday and was admitted to the NICU after being diagnosed with a congenital heart disease.The other two infants had breathing difficulties and sepsis, he added.One of the injured infants was born on August 19 and the other on August 17. Both are currently admitted to the NICU at the Jabalpur medical college hospital.According to sources, a warmer bed caught fire after a suspected short circuit, following which the bedsheet of the cradle, where the three infants were being treated, also caught fire.NICU staff immediately responded, shifting the infants from the affected area.The fire was brought under control with the help of extinguishers and remained confined to the affected unit.Dubey said the staff acted promptly to shift the infants out of harm’s way, adding, however, that some of them sustained burns after the bedsheet of the cradle they were laid on caught fire following the electrical short circuit.Police reached the hospital and launched a probe.Hospital authorities said they were also examining the cause of the fire and the prevailing safety arrangements in the NICU.Meanwhile, the families of the affected infants sought administrative support for the cost of treatment in Jabalpur, saying they may find it difficult to bear the expenses.