Fire at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital; none hurt

Fire at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital was swiftly controlled with no injuries, ensuring patient safety during the incident.

A major mishap was averted at the Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday, thanks to the swift response by healthcare workers who managed to extinguish a fire which broke out in the surgical ICU on the first floor of the Multispeciality block at the hospital.

No injuries were reported in the incident, which took place at around 8.55 a.m., and all patients in the ICU were evacuated and moved to safety. The hospital, the oldest and a prestigious tertiary care institution in the State, is visited by thousands every day.

Mayor V.V. Rajesh, City Police Commissioner K. Karthick and Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Rajan Khobragade rushed to the spot in alarm to manage the situation.

The fire broke out inside a ventilator, which burst, but the house surgeons, doctors, and nurses in the ICU acted swiftly, cutting off the oxygen line and managed to bring the fire under control using the fire extinguishers inside the facility.

However, thick smoke from the ventilator and its parts filled the ICU, creating much panic amongst the hundreds of people, including patients’ families, who were waiting outside the ICU.

By the time two fireforce units from Chackai and Chengalchoola fire stations took over the scene, the situation was already under control.