Bhandara fire incident reminds of 'alert' nurse who saved life of 9 new borns from fire

A fire broke out in the SNCU unit of Bhandara District General Hospital, killing 10 infants. The fire broke out around 2 am on Saturday and 7 out of 17 children were rescued. Of the 10 children, 3 died due to fire while 7 died due to smoke. The whole state is shaken by the incident. The incident reminded many of Savita Ikhar (49) who worked as a nurse at Indira Gandhi Medical College, Nagpur.

A similar incident had taken place at Indira Gandhi Medical College, Nagpur at midnight on August 31, 2019. The alert nurse on night duty had saved nine premature babies after a fire broke out at Indira Gandhi Government College and Hospital (IGGMCH). The incident happened after an electrical short circuit at the post birth unit (PBU)-NICU of the department of paediatrics. In the miraculous escape, Ikhar not only ensured the babies were safely evacuated but also didn’t forget to put ‘billas’ (labels) on them for identification later. She also immediately turned the jumbo oxygen cylinders off to avert a major tragedy in the absence of required firefighting facility and manpower.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government has directed an immediate inquiry into the incident and announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the kin of children who died in the fire.

"Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has expressed deep sorrow over the death of newborn babies in a fire that broke out in a child care unit at the district hospital in Bhandara. As soon as he came to know about the incident, he spoke to Health Minister Rajesh Tope and directed an immediate inquiry into the whole incident. The Chief Minister has also spoken to the District Collector and the Superintendent of Police and they too have been directed to investigate," CMO said.

State Health Minister Rajesh Tope also announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the kin of children who died in the fire.