Amravati Hospital NICU Fire Kills Three Newborns, Six Shifted For Treatment

A fire that broke out in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the new building of the District Women’s Hospital in Maharashtra’s Amravati district killed three newborn babies in the early hours of Monday, according to PTI. The blaze broke out around 4 am and was brought under control soon after, while hospital staff evacuated the other infants.

Fire Breaks Out In NICU

The fire reportedly started after a sudden explosion in a ventilator inside the NICU on the third floor and quickly spread through the unit, according to Loksatta.

The hospital has three separate NICUs with a combined capacity of 39 newborns, with 13 beds in each unit. Twelve babies were present in the unit where the fire broke out.

Nurses and other health workers rushed to evacuate the infants after the blaze started. However, three newborns died after inhaling smoke, the report said.

The NICU in the new hospital building had been operational for just over a year and primarily treated premature, low-birth-weight and critically ill babies.

In a reaction to the incident, NCP-SCP MLA Rohit Pawar blamed the government for not taking action on a report after a previous fire in Bhandara.

"n 2021, an accident in Bhandara resulted in the deaths of 10 children. A special committee was formed to investigate the incident, and its report was submitted to the government. Unfortunately, no action was taken on the report," Pawar told ANI.

Six Infants Shifted To Other Hospitals

Accordfing to ANI, six infants from the affected unit were shifted to other hospitals for further treatment. Some were taken to the nearby Divisional Referral Service Hospital (Super Specialty), while others were shifted to Dr Punjabrao Deshmukh Medical College Hospital.

District Surgeon Dr Vinod Pawar was cited by PTI as saying that one child remained in critical condition after suffering burns to the hand and leg. Three other infants sustained minor burns and were reported to be stable.

A similar fire had reportedly broken out in the NICU of the hospital’s old building around seven years ago. That incident was attributed to a short circuit, according to Loksatta.

The cause of Monday’s fire is yet to be independently established.