Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

Fire at hospital laboratory

— Photo: V. Ganesan

post blaze: The medical lab of the Railway Hospital in Perambur that was gutted on Wednesday.

CHENNAI: A fire broke out in the first floor laboratory wing of Railway Hospital at Perambur around 8.30 p.m. on Wednesday.

While no casualty was reported, sophisticated laboratory equipment, test samples and blood stored for heart surgeries slated for Thursday were destroyed, hospital sources said.

According to eyewitnesses, a spark from a window air conditioner in the laboratory triggered the fire. Within minutes, the entire area was engulfed in flames.

“The fire was not yellow. We saw blue flames inside the [laboratory] room,” said a railway employee. The hospital’s children’s wing runs parallel to the laboratory. Swift response from the employees ensured that the fire did not spread, members of the Southern Railway Mazdoor Union said.

The fire raged for more than an hour and was doused around 10 p.m., but smoke continued to emanate from the building for another half an hour. Though firemen broke open the laboratory windows, the fumes inside and lack of illumination made their task difficult. Compounding the problem was a corridor connecting the laboratory to the casualty wing. Fire tenders could not enter the area and hoses had to be operated from outside. Five fire tenders were pressed into service.

Dakshin Railway Employees Union members said the damage could have been avoided if the fire service had been summoned immediately. Railways’ own fire service and rescue unit in the railway workshop nearby had been shut down and there was a long wait for the State Fire and Service Rescue personnel, they alleged. The union members said the hospital had begun conducting surgeries only on Wednesday as the operation theatres were closed for maintenance for ten days. Patients from other States also come to the hospital for heart surgeries. Official estimates of the damage will be arrived at only after an assessment on Thursday.

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