Kanpur: A fire broke out near the intensive care unit (ICU) on the first floor of the state-run LPS Institute of Cardiology here Sunday morning, the Uttar Pradesh government said.
“The fire broke out in the storeroom. Things are under control now and officers are on the ground. There are no casualties. Around 140 patients were evacuated,” Additional Chief Secretary Awanish Kumar Awasthi told PTI, adding that the flames have been doused.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took cognizance of the incident and directed that the evacuated patients be provided immediate care. He has also sought a report from the district administration, the government said in a statement issued in Lucknow.
The chief minister has directed a high-level team, headed by the principal secretary, health education and also comprising the director general of fire services and the Kanpur divisional commissioner, to visit the site and give its report immediately, the statement said.
The chief minister has said a campaign should be launched at the earliest to test the fire-extinguishing arrangements at all hospitals of the state, in accordance with the directives issued earlier to strengthen such measures.
Kanpur’s Additional Commissioner of Police Akash Kulhari said a couple of fire-tenders were pressed into service to douse the fire that broke out around 7 am.
Window panes on the first floor of the hospital were broken to let the smoke out, an official said.
According to Swaroop Nagar Station House Officer (SHO) Ashwani Pandey, the fire broke out on the first floor of the hospital.
About 175 patients were evacuated from the ICU and other neighbouring wards and shifted to other wards, he added.
“A short-circuit is suspected to have led to the fire, but the exact reason will be ascertained only after an investigation,” the SHO said.
PTI