A fire in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of a district hospital in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, resulted in the death of a newborn and left two others with serious injuries. The incident occurred early Saturday morning, according to hospital officials. Emergency services responded promptly, but the fire’s cause is still under investigation.
The hospital administration has ordered an inquiry to determine the cause of the incident and review safety arrangements in the unit. Police are investigating the incident, while hospital management is conducting a parallel probe.
The NICU’s oxygen supply line was shut off during the fire, averting a potentially more dangerous situation, according to hospital officials.
“A short circuit occurred in the plug socket of a warmer in the NICU. The fire spread to the cradle where three infants were kept, igniting plastic components and bedding materials. Kanchan Dubey, a pediatrician at the hospital. Thirty other newborns were accommodated in separate cradles. “Hospital staff managed to extinguish the fire promptly and shifted all infants to other wards. The injured were transported to Jabalpur by ambulance under the supervision of two doctors to ensure continuous medical care during the journey.
Staff members immediately removed the babies, but they were already weak due to infection and sustained burn injuries,” said Dr. Three children aged between one and 12 days were placed in the same cradle when the fire erupted, according to hospital officials.
One died on the way,” Dubey said.
