Vipin Kental, Delhi Fire Service Director
Delhi AIIMS Fire: Delhi Fire Service chief Vipin Kental told media late on Saturday that fire at AIIMS hospital in Delhi had been brought under control and that cooling operation had begun. He said that fire brigade will maintain its presence at the hospital till Sunday morning and will ensure that fire has been doused completely.
Just when it seemed certain that fire at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) was brought under control after 8 o'clock in the evening on Saturday, inputs suggested that fire was spreading on the fifth floor of the teaching block building. Patients were then shifted to other wards and even other hospitals for their safety.
Firemen battled the blaze till about 12 at night. 40 fire tenders were there on the spot. A team of National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) was dispatched to aid in the effort.
Fire broke out in teaching block of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi on Saturday evening. The fire which started in the teaching block of the premier hospital destroyed medical reports and samples.
The blaze was spotted on the first and second floor of the building. As many as 22 fire tenders were immediately sent by the fire brigade after it was alerted. Later, more vehicles were sent bringing the total number of fire tenders to 40. After battling the flames for about two hours, the firefighters were able to bring the inferno under control. However, fresh inputs mean that danger is far from over.
A fire department official said there were no casualties.
AIIMS fire
Sources said the fire spread to the Emergency Lab in the department of Lab Medicine, which is adjacent to the Microbiology department's virology unit.
Electrical repairs were taking place here.
The fire moved down to the first floor -- and also upward to the third and the fourth floor of the building, they said.
News of the fire immediately hit national headlines as former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is currently receiving treatment in AIIMS hospital. However, Jaitley has been admitted in ICU of the cardio-neuro centre which is housed in a different building that which caught fire.
Patients from some floors of the AB ward, close to the Microbiology department where the blaze started at around 5 pm, were evacuated along with those in operation theatres above it.
The Microbiology department's virology unit on the second floor of the teaching block has been completely gutted, sources said.
Earlier in March, a fire broke out on the ground floor of the hospital's Trauma Centre near one of the operation theatres. The patients had to be shifted to another ward then and others were evacuated since the smoke engulfed the ground floor.
(With PTI inputs)
