Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, on Saturday, said that the experts from the National Fire Service College
(NFSC) and the VINT will probe into Bhandara
district hospital’s fire accident in Nagpur, in which ten infants died. The fire which broke out in the Special Newborn Care Unit of the hospital on Saturday morning, killed
ten newborn babies while seven were saved.

Deshmukh also spoke to the
reporters in Nagpur and expressed his grief about the fire accident as unfortunate
and heart-wrenching. He said, “The government has ordered a high-level
probe to find out if a short circuit or the air conditioner malfunctioning was
the reason. Experts of NFSC and the Visvesvaraya National Institute of
Technology (VNIT) will conduct investigation. It will also be probed whether
the fire audit was conducted at the hospital. The guilty will not be spared.
The strictest possible action will be taken against the culprits”.

Ajit Pawar, Maharashtra
Deputy CM also termed the fire accident as “painful” and assured that a strict
action will be taken against the culprits behind the uncertain incident. He told
reporters in Pune that “The incident is shocking and painful. State health
minister Rajesh Tope has gone to Bhandara to take the stock of the
situation”.

The Maharashtra government
has also decided to provide ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the
departed newborns, added Pawar.

Also read: Ten children die in hospital fire in Maharashtra’s Bhandara

He also said that “A
detailed inquiry has been ordered into the incident and clear instructions have
been given to conduct an audit of all hospitals that are equipped with neonatal
intensive care units to prevent a repeat of such incidents”. As it was a care
unit, someone should have been put on the duty at that time in the ward.

Vijay Wadettiwar, State
Social Welfare Minister told the incident as very sad and unfortunate. He
added, “Before drawing any conclusions about what triggered the fire, a
detailed enquiry will be conducted into the incident. A team from National Fire
Service College has arrived at the hospital to inspect the site”.

He also mentioned that a
nurse who was present at the site during the incident played a key role in
saving seven infants from the deadly fire.

Wadettiwar had instructed
all hospitals in the state to have advanced fire safety equipment and fire
audits need to be conducted at all hospitals every three years.