Fire at Barisal SBMCH

A fire broke out in the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) of the Sher-e-Bangla Medical College and Hospital (SBMCH) in Barisal due to an electric short circuit. 

Although no injuries were reported, there was an allegation that a patient undergoing treatment at the hospital died due to panic during the incident.

The deceased was identified as Randi, 65, a resident of Gaurnadi upazila of Barisal district. She was admitted to the medicine ward of the SBMCH last Monday (December 13). Later, she was transferred to the CCU due to heart problems.

Hospital authorities claimed that the allegation was not true since the patient died about twenty minutes later after the fire had broken out. Her condition was previously critical, said the service supervisor of the hospital Selina Akhter who was present at the scene.

Selina Akhter said that around 11 pm, the CCU unit of a two-storey building on the west side of the hospital suddenly caught fire after the oxygen supply box exploded with a loud bang set over bed number four. The explosion spread panic among other wards of the hospital as well. The patients rushed to a safer spot in front of the hospital to save their lives.
“On information, the fire service was instantly informed about the fire incident. However, the hospital staff had brought the fire under control with fire extinguishers before the fire service reached the scene. Side by side, the CCU patients were shifted to the adjacent post CCU.” added the nursing officer.

Meanwhile, the eyewitness, patients and their relatives claimed that Randi, a patient of bed number fourteen of the CCU, died during the incident as panic spread among the patients. She was admitted to CCU on Monday (December 13) and was undergoing treatment.

In this respect, the service supervisor of the hospital added that “The patient died at least twenty minutes after the fire was brought under control. She was already in a critical condition. Therefore, the allegation cannot be confirmed yet.”

In this regard, the director of SBMCH Dr H.M Saiful Islam told reporters that: “There was no reason to be panicked. The fire was brought under control by the hospital’s own safety and risk management system. However, the number of the damages caused by the fire cannot be confirmed yet.”

“It is true that one patient died after the incident. However, she did not die of fire or panic because she was far away from the scene,” he said, adding that the patient died of the disease she is suffering from.