ISLAMABAD: A fire that killed 14 newborn babies at a major state-run hospital in Pakistan’s capital engulfed its nursery within a minute after an apparent electrical spark, the health minister said on Wednesday, acknowledging the facility had no sprinkler system as authorities investigated the deadly blaze.
The fire broke out early Wednesday on the third floor of the maternal and child health ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), one of Islamabad’s largest public hospitals.
PIMS spokesperson Dr. Aneza Jalil confirmed the death toll to Arab News and said all the bodies had been handed over to their families.
“14 babies passed away,” she said.
The tragedy comes months after Islamabad authorities identified widespread shortcomings in fire-safety compliance across the capital. A survey of 6,500 public and private buildings, including 300 government facilities, found most had not obtained approval for fire-safety plans or been issued completion and fire-safety certificates, according to the Capital Development Authority (CDA).
“It’s all visible in the CCTV footage,” Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal told reporters outside PIMS. “A spark came down from the AC onto the floor. Within 1 minute, a spark happened at 6:38, and by 6:39, the whole room was [on fire].”
Kamal said the oxygen supply system to the babies appeared to have contributed to the rapid spread of the blaze.
“Apparently, it seems that because all 14 out of the 15 babies were on oxygen,” he said. “Tubes were attached to them, oxygen was supplied, and that oxygen caught flame. The fire can be seen across all lines in that video.”
Oxygen itself is not flammable but can accelerate combustion, making materials burn more rapidly and intensely in oxygen-enriched environments.
PIMS said in a subsequent statement that its preliminary findings also indicated the fire began with a spark inside the nursery at 6:38 a.m. and spread within seconds through oxygen points at each incubator. By 6:39 a.m., the hospital said, a “huge blast” had occurred and parts of the ceiling had collapsed.
Kamal also acknowledged that the hospital did not have a sprinkler system, saying staff had instead used 26 fire extinguishers in an attempt to contain the blaze. PIMS later said 35 available fire extinguishers had been used by staff.
FIRE SAFETY PROBE
Questions over fire precautions and the emergency response intensified throughout Wednesday as federal and local authorities launched separate investigations into the disaster.
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said investigators would examine why emergency doors were closed, how many doctors and nurses were present when the blaze broke out and how medical staff responded.
“All evidence, from CCTV footage to the burnt equipment there and all surrounding evidence” had been preserved for investigators, Chaudhry told reporters.
Kamal said CCTV footage showed four medical staff, two doctors and two charge nurses, were present when the fire began and had run to seek help as the flames spread.
“Four people ran to call for help,” he said. “After 1 minute, the entire room was in flames. That can be seen in that video.”
PIMS said the two doctors and two nurses had immediately alerted security personnel and twice attempted to enter the nursery to bring babies out before the blast and ceiling collapse.
The hospital said staff rescued one baby from the nursery and four from an adjacent room, along with three mothers. Another 73 patients admitted to the adjoining gynecology ward on the same floor were evacuated “within minutes,” according to the statement.
The health minister disputed suggestions that a secondary door had simply been left locked, saying access was controlled by a guard around the clock following previous incidents in which newborns had been stolen from the hospital.
“At the secondary door, a guard is posted 24/7 who opens and closes it manually,” Kamal said.
PIMS separately said in its statement that “all emergency exits were fully open and operational.” The circumstances surrounding the exits remain under investigation.
Chaudhry separately rejected suggestions that emergency services had been slow to respond.
“I am giving the exact time: after six minutes [of receiving distress call], our rescue teams were present here on the ground,” he said.
The Islamabad administration said six fire engines and four ambulances took part in the emergency response.
ACCOUNTABILITY
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired an emergency meeting earlier on Wednesday and suspended Federal Health Secretary Aslam Ghori, ordering him removed from his post, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
Sharif also constituted a high-level inquiry committee headed by former interior secretary Shahid Khan. Establishment Secretary Dr. Barrister Noel Awan was among its other members.
Kamal said he had also presented himself for accountability and that anyone whose negligence contributed to the deaths should face action.
“If there was any negligence… if someone had a responsibility and failed to fulfill it, and as I said, this should start with me, then whoever is responsible will be brought to justice by all means,” he said.
Asked repeatedly by reporters whether he would resign, Kamal did not directly answer, saying he could only speak within instructions given by the prime minister.
The minister said he expected the investigation to be completed within the next two to three days.
Separately, the Islamabad district magistrate constituted a fact-finding committee tasked with determining the exact cause of the fire, assessing whether adequate and functional fire-safety measures were in place and evaluating the response time and effectiveness of rescue and firefighting operations.
That committee has been ordered to submit its report within 24 hours.
Islamabad has dedicated fire-prevention regulations, while health care facilities are required under regulatory standards to maintain fire-safety plans covering prevention, detection, suppression and safe evacuation.
