Fire at Army Base Hospital in the Delhi Cantonment, no one injured

A fire broke out Tuesday morning at the Army Base Hospital in the Delhi Cantonment in the southwestern part of the city, affecting an operation theatre and an intensive care unit, but no one was injured, officials said.They said it was a very risky operation for firemen as the blaze was in a room next to the one in which oxygen and nitrogen cylinders were kept.

A fire broke out Tuesday morning at the Army Base Hospital in the Delhi Cantonment in the southwestern part of the city, affecting an operation theatre and an intensive care unit, but no one was injured, officials said.

They said it was a very risky operation for firemen as the blaze was in a room next to the one in which oxygen and nitrogen cylinders were kept. It took around two hours for around 50-60 firemen to douse the flames. Information about the blaze was received around 3.50 am and 11 fire tenders were rushed to the spot, Delhi Fire Service officials said. Police, meanwhile, said six fire tenders of the Army Fire Squad were also involved in the operation. According to officials, the fire spread to the operation theatre, intensive care unit (ICU) and the store room of the hospital before it was was brought under control around 5.30 am.

''Most dreaded thing for firemen in fire incidents are cylinder blasts. But team DFS (Delhi Fire Service) has always taken risks to protect the lives and property of the citizens of Delhi. A fire in Base hospital, Cantt, was received...team fought in presence of cylinder,'' Delhi Fire Service Director Atul Garg tweeted.

Another senior fire official said oxygen and nitrogen cylinders were in the area where the fire broke out.

''After receiving information, our personnel rushed to the spot, along with fire tenders, fire pump and sky lift. When we reached the spot and entered the building, we saw oxygen and nitrogen cylinders were kept there. The fire was in a room which was next to the room where the cylinders were placed,'' he said ''The fire was in OT, ICU and store room, where medical waste was stored. The defence fire staff was already working there before we started our operation. We entered the building from two sides and managed to douse the blaze around 5.30 am. Around 50 to 60 firemen worked and did not allow the fire to spread in the room where the cylinders were present,'' the official said.

Army officials said there is a defence fire service in a cantonment area that swings into action whenever such a situation arises. Deputy Commissioner of Police (west) Ghanshyam Bansal said there was a fire in the ICU block of the hospital. He said that according to army officials all the 17 patients were evacuated from the ICU well in time. He said no casualties were reported so far.

The DCP, however, did not share what caused the fire, saying the matter in being investigated with army officials.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)