Web Desk: A fire-safety investigation into the blaze at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) nursery ward has identified inadequate life-safety arrangements, obstructed emergency exits and delays during the initial response, raising fresh questions over preparedness at the hospital.
The Capital Development Authority’s Fire and Disaster Management department has released its findings on the incident, which claimed the lives of newborn children.
According to the CDA report, an electrical short circuit or overloading of a plug may have triggered the fire.
The emergency call was received at 6:54 a.m., and the first fire tender and rescue van arrived at the hospital within six minutes.
Firefighters deployed six fire tenders, six ambulances and a rescue van, with 44 operational personnel and six officers taking part in the response. Teams from G-10, I-9, G-5 and Fire Headquarters also joined the operation.
The investigation found that fire and life-safety arrangements inside the nursery ward were insufficient and fell short of required standards.
In particular, the report said emergency exits were permanently locked from the outside and were also obstructed. The CDA concluded that the blocked exits hindered evacuation and complicated efforts to rescue people trapped inside.
The report also said hospital security personnel initially obstructed fire crews responding to the emergency, while crowd-management arrangements at the scene were inadequate.
The CDA said 19 people were evacuated safely, including seven children, 10 women and two men. However, several newborns died in the tragedy.
The Islamabad district administration said the fire started on the third floor of the Mother and Child Hospital’s MCH ward.
Rescue teams moved to the hospital after receiving the emergency call, while six fire brigade vehicles and four ambulances took part in the operation. Firefighters eventually brought the blaze under control and transferred affected children to the intensive care unit.
Officials and rescue sources have reported differing figures for the number of newborn deaths, with the CDA report stating that seven children lost their lives while other accounts put the toll at 14.
The incident has prompted scrutiny of the hospital’s broader fire-safety arrangements.
Rescue sources described the facilities as inadequate and alleged that there was no water available at a designated fire point when the blaze erupted. They also said fire-hose couplings were missing and that evacuation routes had been locked.
The sources further claimed that no doctors, ward boys or other staff members were present inside the incubation centre when the fire began. Parents at the hospital also alleged that staff were absent from the area.
Malik Israr, whose niece was receiving treatment in the gynaecology ward, told Dawn that renovation and repair work was underway in the building when the incident occurred.
He said patients were instructed to leave after the fire broke out, forcing women who had recently given birth to descend the stairs in an emergency.
The CDA findings are likely to intensify calls for hospital authorities to address fire-safety deficiencies, keep emergency exits accessible and strengthen evacuation and emergency-response procedures.
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