Dibrugarh: 12 Infants Had Close Shave After Fire Breaks out at ICU In AMCH

At least 12 new born babies had a close shave after a fire broke out at an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Paediatric ward on Wednesday at Assam Medical College and Hospital in Dibrugarh.

According to hospital authorities, the incident took place at around 6.30 pm in the evening when a ventilator unit caught fire due to a short circuit.

AMCH Superintendent Prasanta Dihingia said the monitor of a ventilator in the paediatric ward caught fire which was immediately doused by the staff with the help of a fire extinguisher kept in the room.

Dihingia said that there were 12 children in the ward, aged between six months and 10 years. However, no one was injured.

Dr Sanjeev Kakati, principal-cum-chief superintendent of AMCH said the baby in the particular unit and all other babies of the ICU are safe.

As a precautionary measure, the hospital shifted all the patients to another paediatric ward on the campus after the incident, the Superintendent said.

He further stated that the affected ward had six ventilators and two of them were received under the PM-CARES fund. One of the PM-CARES ventilators had caught fire.

Regarding the reason of the fire, the Superintendent said that it is not immediately known if the ventilator had any issue or there was a problem with the electricity connectivity in the ward.

A probe into the incident has been conducted by the personnel from the fire and power departments.

Dihingia said the AMCH has already initiated an internal inquiry.

"We have also requested the Assam government to do an investigation independently. These will bring out the truth," he told reporters.

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