ISLAMABAD — Rescue sources have revealed serious shortcomings in fire safety arrangements at Islamabad’s Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), where a nursery blaze killed 14 newborn babies on Wednesday morning.
According to rescue sources, the fire hoses at the hospital did not have couplings, and there was no water available at the designated fire point at the time of the incident. The lapses meant emergency responders faced critical delays in accessing water to fight the blaze as it spread through the nursery.
Sources further said emergency evacuation routes in the ward were locked at the time of the fire, raising serious concerns over the hospital’s preparedness for such emergencies.
Adding to the alarm, rescue sources said no doctors, ward boys, or other staff were present in the incubation center when the fire broke out. Parents of affected infants have separately alleged that ward staff were absent at the critical moment, according to local media reports.
The fire erupted around 6:45 a.m. on the third floor of PIMS’s Mother and Child Health (MCH) ward, after an air-conditioning compressor reportedly exploded inside the nursery. Of the newborns in the ward at the time, only one could be rescued.
Investigation Underway
The revelations are expected to feature prominently in the fact-finding investigation ordered by the Islamabad district administration, which has constituted a committee headed by the Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) to determine the cause of the fire and the circumstances that allowed it to turn fatal. The committee, which also includes officials from the Capital Development Authority, Islamabad Police and IESCO, has reportedly been directed to submit its findings within 24 hours.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has already ordered a detailed investigation and called for strict action against those found responsible for the tragedy.
The disclosures raise pointed questions about accountability at one of Islamabad’s largest public hospitals, coming months after city authorities had flagged widespread shortcomings in fire-safety compliance across the capital.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more details emerge.
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14 Newborns Killed as Fire Engulfs PIMS Hospital Nursery in Islamabad
