Sparks from welding machine may have caused hospital fire

MUMBAI: The fire that broke out at the ESIC-run Kamgar Hospital in Marol on Monday, killing eight people, including a two-month-old girl, and injuring over 160, was caused by sparks from a welding machine falling on a pile of rubber sheets, showed investigations by a police forensic team. It has also emerged that the hospital has been the site of frequent minor fires. The chief minister has ordered an inquiry after speaking to the PM and the Union health minister.
The team said smoke emanating from melting rubber sheets, around 60 of them stored outside the central AC unit on the ground floor, travelled through AC ducts to the higher floors.“There is no fire damage in the hospital. It was just smoke that cost lives,” said an officer from the MIDC police station.
The glass facade of the building prevented smoke from escaping sideways. Thus it rose upwards, creating a death trap for lung patients, like Powai resident Babu Khan (65), who were being treated on the fourth floor.
4-day-old girl, 29 other fire victims are in ICU
Four of the eight who died had asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder and were on the fourth floor.
On past fires, staff said one was in March in the blood bank. Lab technician Vishal Kumar said, “Fire incidents in the hospital had become a joke among many.”
On Monday’s fire, a senior fire officer said, “Smoke spread fast because the hospital’s floor or stairwell entrances don’t have fire-resistant doors. The building has only one exit, as the other is closed due to construction work. Mumbai fire brigade will now conduct a detailed investigation. The police will decide on action based on the report.”
On Monday, a few patients jumped off the building to escape. Chandrakant Mhatre (68), who was undergoing dialysis, jumped off the fourth floor and broke his ribs, dying of related trauma in Seven Hills Hospital on Tuesday.
Eight families spent Tuesday morning waiting for post-mortem reports at Cooper Hospital, Juhu. Rajesh Yadav, the father of the yet-to-be-named two-month-old girl who died, broke down as he carried her body out.
On Tuesday, TOI entered the hospital premises to find that at many places slabs were cracked, plaster peeled off and a false ceiling damaged. Medical superintendent Dr BB Gupta said he would comment after two days.
“The building doesn’t have proper fire escape points. Renovation work began 10 years ago and is still on. No proper audit has been done,” said a staffer. Staff nurse C Rani told TOI, “The medical superintendent and hospital seniors did not take our complaints seriously. We kept telling them about crumbling slabs and other infrastructure problems. There have been instances when even snakes were found in the hospital.”
On Tuesday, hospital staff protested against the administration alleging poor work conditions. They said that every week staff fall sick owing to pollution from never-ending construction work on the premises.
Union minister of state for labour and employment Santosh Kumar Gangwar announced compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased, Rs 2 lakh for each with serious injuries, and Rs 1 lakh for each with minor injuries. Gangwar held a meeting with ministry and ESIC officials in Delhi and directed them to extend all possible help to the relatives of the deceased and those injured. A team of doctors from ESIC Delhi has been brought to Mumbai to aid the victims.