Fire accident creates panic among patients in RGGGH

Electrical short circuit in the ground floor of old block triggered the fire

An electrical short circuit caused a fire accident in the ground floor of one of the old blocks of the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) on Thursday. The accident created panic among the patients and the hospital authorities. The fire was noticed in the storage room of the Bradfield surgical block. 

Health Minister Ma. Subramanian, who rushed to the hospital, said the staff acted swiftly and shifted the patients admitted in the block. “There were 33 patients of whom three were undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit. As this is an old building, not many patients were admitted here. The Fire and Rescue Services personnel acted fast and brought the fire under control,” he said. 

A senior official of the Fire and Rescue Services said fire was noticed in the room, where medical equipment and oxygen cylinders were stored, after an explosion was heard. More than four vehicles including from Washermanpet, Royapuram, Korukkupet, and Mylapore, were deployed to extinguish the fire.  The oxygen cylinders were safely removed from the block. A skylifter was also put into service to douse the fire. 

Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Minister P.K. Sekar Babu and Chennai Central MP Dayanidhi Maran visited the spot. 

Police Commissioner Shankar Jiwal, along with senior police and Fire and Rescue officials, inspected the spot.