Fire erupts at Thiruvananthapuram hospital; patients evacuated 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A minor fire erupted in the canteen of the city-based SP Fort hospital on Thursday morning prompting the hospital authorities to evacuate the patients.

The fire erupted in the canteen located in a separate building by 9.15 am. 

Though the blaze was not massive and occurred in a building located away from the hospital, the patients were evacuated to safety as the smoke from the fire billowed in to the hospital block which is located in front of the canteen.

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The Fire and Rescue Services officials from Chenkalchoola unit were pressed into action and they doused the blaze in 15 minutes.

Station Officer D Praveen said the fire erupted from the edible oil while cooking. "It spread to the exhaust hood and its aluminium cover. Since the room is small the heat rose exponentially," he said.

The walls of the canteen were fixed with floor tiles which cracked under heat and added to the blaze, the Fire and Rescue officials added.