PIMS nursery fire inquiry finds major safety, emergency-response failures

An interim inquiry into a fire that killed 14 newborn babies at Pakistan’s largest public hospital has found major failures in fire safety, emergency notification and evacuation procedures, while saying the exact cause of the blaze remains undetermined.

The fire broke out at 6:38 a.m. on Wednesday (Aug 26) in the nursery of the Mother and Child Healthcare Centre at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad, according to the report.

The inquiry said possible sources included an air-conditioning unit, an incubator, a warmer or an electrical short circuit. Records from Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) showed no external power failure or electrical tripping at the time, suggesting the fire may have originated from equipment or the hospital’s internal electrical system.

The committee said determining the precise cause was separate from examining the factors that contributed to the scale of the tragedy. It identified inadequate fire-safety arrangements and emergency preparedness as critical failures.

CCTV footage showed conditions inside the nursery deteriorated to an extremely dangerous level within about two minutes of the fire starting, the report said.

The inquiry also rejected allegations that medical and nursing staff abandoned the newborns. CCTV footage showed staff nurse Razia evacuating a newborn, while charge nurse Nasreen sought assistance and security guard Maria entered the nursery to help, according to the report.

PM suspends eight officials after PIMS fire kills 14 babies

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered the suspension of eight officials and criminal proceedings against those responsible for the fire after the inquiry found serious fire-safety and emergency-response failures, the government said on Saturday.

Sharif directed that those found responsible face both departmental and criminal action under relevant laws.

The officials approved for suspension include PIMS Executive Director Professor Dr Imran Sikandar, Joint Executive Directors Dr Mutahir Shah and Dr Chaudhry Owais Ali Shah, Head of the Neonatal Department Professor Dr Sadia Riaz, Senior Registrar Dr Naghma, Dr Nosheela Amjad, PIMS Assistant Director Security Muhammad Usman and Capital Development Authority Emergency Services Director General Dr Abdul Rehman.

The prime minister also ordered action against the private security company deployed at the hospital and its officials.

Sharif directed that the interim inquiry report be made public and uploaded to the Ministry of National Health Services’ website. He also ordered the immediate replacement of officials removed from their posts to ensure hospital operations were not disrupted.

Emergency response gaps

The inquiry found significant weaknesses in the hospital’s emergency notification system. Records from the Capital Emergency Services (CES) showed the first emergency call was received at about 6:54 a.m., with the fire brigade arriving around six to seven minutes later.

PIMS’s existing standard operating procedures (SOPs) did not clearly assign responsibility for raising the alarm, making emergency calls or evacuating patients, the report said.

There was also no specifically approved, trained and regularly rehearsed procedure for evacuating newborn babies from the nursery, it said.

Fire and life-safety arrangements at PIMS were described as inadequate and compromised. Emergency routes and fire-exit doors were either closed or obstructed, while firefighters had to force open some locked exits and other access routes, according to the report.

PIMS had previously faced warnings over its fire-safety arrangements. An inquiry into a July 6 fire at the hospital, conducted only weeks before the nursery blaze, had identified deficiencies involving smoke detectors, alarms, emergency lighting and escape routes.

That inquiry had recommended improvements to fire-safety audits, smoke detection and emergency-response systems. It had also identified weaknesses in record-keeping and monitoring and recommended departmental action against a hostel warden and two security guards.

The latest inquiry said the earlier incident showed that fire risks at PIMS were already known and had not been adequately addressed.

The committee stressed that the cause of the fire and the factors that contributed to its devastating consequences must be assessed separately.

It has deferred a final determination of responsibility until completion of its comprehensive investigation.