Major fire breaks out at Noida’s Metro Hospital

Parmananda, an eye witness, blamed the hospital for the fire, claiming that the fire alarm system was out of order. He had rushed to the hospital as soon as he heard about the fire and saw that the doctors and senior staff at the hospital were the first to escape. “Junior staff and guards stayed back to help patients,” he added.

However, the hospital authorities claimed that the fire alarm system was functioning. “All fire safety measures are in place in the hospital. We evacuated everyone as soon as we could. There is no clarity on the cause of the fire,” said hospital chairperson Purshotam Lal.

Second, third and fourth floors were the worst affected by the fire. (Express Photo)

Ramvati, whose husband Ramveer was a patient at the hospital, said they were on the fourth floor when the fire broke out. “We saw smoke on the floor and were asked to move to the third floor quickly. There we broke the windows, threw our bags outside and ran downstairs,” she said, adding that she has lost her chappals in the rush. “Police and firemen were very helpful and brought us to safety. Otherwise, a person like me would have died,” she said.

Gautam Buddha Nagar DM BN Singh said a magisterial enquiry will be set up to ascertain whether the hospital had fire clearances and also to pinpoint the cause of fire. “Fire safety and preparedness in other hospitals will also be checked in view of the incident,” he added.

The heart institute, which is run by the Metro Hospitals Group, was established in 1997 and has 110 beds. A 207-bed multispecialty hospital belonging to the same group is located less than 200 metres away from the institute.