Major fire breaks out at Jaipur hospital, 100 evacuated

JAIPUR: A major fire broke out inside the store room of a hospital located in Lal Kothi area of the city late on Sunday night.
The fire officials claimed that short circuit inside the store room near the operation ward of Jaipur Hospital sparked the fire. “We evacuated as many as 100 people, including patients who had recently undergone operation. The fire broke out at the second floor, but we managed to douse it with the help of eight fire tenders,” fire official Jalag Ghasiya told TOI.

The hospital was a picture of chaos with the patients, still lying on their hospital beds, being evacuated out of the hospital thick black amid smoke and enveloping darkness. “We took patients out of the hospital and kept them at the backyard of the municipal corporation building. Critically ill patients will be shifted to another hospital,” said an official of the hospital.

Some patients and relatives complained of discomfort in their eyes and vomited due to deadly smoke. Several ambulances from across the city were pressed into services. The fire officials said that loss of life was reported as the entire building was evacuated on time through stair cases. Senior officials also rushed to the hospital.