Chandigarh, Oct 16 (PTI) A fire broke out in the basement of PGIMER-Chandigarh’s Advanced Eye Centre on Monday but no injuries were reported and the blaze was quickly brought under control, officials said.
As the fire broke out in the morning, OPD patients were evacuated as a precautionary measure and those entering the building were stopped at the gate, they said. Five to six fire tenders were rushed to the site.
This was the second incident of fire at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) within a week.
“The fire broke out in the basement. The OPD was evacuated immediately as smoke spread. However, the fire was brought under control quickly,” PGIMER Medical Superintendent Vipin Koushal told PTI.
He said an investigation is being conducted to ascertain the cause of the fire.
Sanjeev Kohli, the nodal officer of the disaster management department, Chandigarh, who also rushed to the incident site, told reporters, “We noticed the fire broke out in the UPS room where batteries are kept. The fire was controlled after some time.” According to the police, no injuries were reported in the incident.
The Advanced Eye Centre daily sees a heavy footfall of patients from Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and parts of Uttar Pradesh.
“I had deposited my patient card and while was waiting inside, the security guards told me to rush out of the building because a fire had been reported. Soon, smoke filled up the complex and patients were stopped from entering till the situation was fully brought under control,” said a man who had come from Haryana’s Karnal. On October 9, more than 400 patients were evacuated to safety late in the night after a major fire broke out in PGIMER-Chandigarh’s Nehru Hospital building. The fire broke out in the UPS system of the computer room on the first floor.
Following the incident, a 14-member committee was constituted by the PGIMER under the chairmanship of Dean (Academic) Prof Naresh Panda to ascertain the exact cause of the fire and work out an action plan to avoid such incidents in the future. PTI SUN NSD NSD
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