Patients evacuated as fire destroys hospital canteen in Thiruvananthapuram

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A minor fire erupted in the canteen of the city-based SP Fort Hospital on Thursday morning, prompting the authorities to evacuate the patients. The fire erupted in the canteen located in a separate building around 9.15am. Though the blaze was not massive and occurred in a building located somewhat away from the hospital, the patients were evacuated to safety as the smoke from the fire spread to the hospital block which is located in front.

As many as 16 patients were shifted to another branch of the hospital. 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 frying pan while cooking. “The fire erupted while heating edible oil. It spread to the exhaust hood and its aluminium cover. Since the room is small, the heat increased rapidly,” he said.

The walls of the canteen were fixed with tiles which cracked under the heat and added to the blaze, the  official added. The Covid patients were housed in a separate block and were not affected by the fire and smoke. The canteen, meanwhile, was completely destroyed in the fire.