A FIRE that broke out in the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of the District Women’s Hospital in Amravati in the early hours of Monday snuffed out lives of 3 newborn babies. The blaze, which erupted at around 3.15 am on the third floor of the hospital’s new building, triggered a frantic evacuation of 36 infants undergoing treatment. Preliminary information indicated that a ventilator in the SNCU caught fire, reportedly following a sudden blast, after which the flames and dense smoke spread rapidly through the unit. The exact cause of the fire, however, is yet to be ascertained. The tragedy has triggered widespread anger in Amravati, with citizens demanding accountability and a comprehensive review of fire and electrical safety systems in Government hospitals. Health Minister Prakash Abitkar visited the District Women’s Hospital and the hospitals where the rescued infants were shifted and reviewed their condition and treatment arrangements. The 3 deceased babies include 2-day-old son of Puja Borge, a resident of Pimpalkhuta, near Anjansingi in Dhamangaon Railway tehsil. She was currently residing at Gadgenagar in Amravati; 5- day-old son of Gayatri Prafull Chopade, Turkhed in Anjangaon Surji in Amravati District and 10-day-old daughter of Kiran Bethekar from Borala in Chikhaldara tehsil of the district. A probe has been ordered into the incident, with the functioning and maintenance of the suspected equipment and the hospital’s safety arrangements expected to form part o f the investigation. The SNCU has three sections with a combined capacity of 39 newborns. At the time of the incident, nine babies were admitted in the affected section.

 

Three of them died, while the remaining six were rescued and shifted to Divisional Superspeciality hospital. In all, 36 other infants from the three units were evacuated and shifted to safer facilities. Doctors, nurses and other hospital staff immediately rushed to the affected unit and began evacuating the babies. Fire brigade personnel also launched a rescue operation. According to the Amravati Municipal Corporation Fire and Emergency Services, a call was received at 3.40 am from security guard Yash Solanke, and a fire tender reached the hospital at 3.43 am. Fireman Amol Salunke entered the smoke-filled unit wearing a breathing apparatus and rescued three newborns. Firefighters used smokeexhaust equipment to clear the thick smoke and brought the blaze under control in around 30 minutes. Fire Superintendent Ajay Pandhare supervised the operation, while additional fire tenders were mobilised from Prashant Nagar, Transport Nagar and the fire brigade headquarters. The blaze caused extensive damage to medical equipment, including ventilators, CPAP machines, air-conditioners, radiant warmers, trolleys, syringe pumps and pulse oximeters. Amravati Police Commissioner Rakesh Ola said that six rescued infants were shifted to a super-speciality hospital, while four others were transferred to the Divisional Referral Services Hospital, where one child remains in critical condition. The bodies of the three deceased infants have been sent for post-mortem examination, he said. The tragedy sparked severe outrage among parents and relatives waiting outside the facility, who alleged gross negligence and a complete failure of safety infrastructure.