CCTV shows fire alarms sounded before fatal Amravati hospital blaze

CCTV footage from Dufferin District Women’s Hospital in Amravati, Maharashtra, shows that fire alarms sounded three times before a blaze killed three newborns in the hospital’s Sick Newborn Care Unit, according to The Hindu. The footage reportedly shows red warning lights flashing during the early hours of August 24. Staff members were either asleep or absent from the ward when the warnings occurred, while two nurses outside the unit woke after an explosion and ran towards it.

The first alarm was recorded at about 2:50 a.m. A committee report said the fire began between 3 a.m. and 3:30 a.m., while the fire brigade arrived between 3:34 a.m.

and 3:40 a.m. Thirty-six other newborns were rescued. Staff had previously told The Hindu that a nurse feeding a baby noticed the fire and that the alarms had failed to operate.

The CCTV footage presents a different sequence, raising questions about the response to the warnings. A report by Public Health Commissioner Sanjay Katkar attributed responsibility to a defective Schiller ventilator, negligence in using the fire system, service-provider failures and inadequate emergency training. It said two newborns died from shock and burns, while a third died from smoke inhalation.

The report noted that a fire-safety audit had found major maintenance was needed for hydrant and sprinkler pumps, which were not operating automatically. Only one of nine staff members had received fire-safety training. The forensic report is still awaited, and the cause has not been conclusively established.

Five officials and employees were suspended after a summary of the inquiry was released on September 10. The inquiry also found a service provider, M/S AOV International LLP, responsible for lapses.