PIMS fire tragedy: Blocked exits, failed safety systems expose hospital crisis

The blaze broke out early Wednesday, August 26, in the Mother and Child Health (MCH) Ward on the third floor of the hospital. While the Capital

ISLAMABAD: A devastating fire at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) has claimed the lives of newborn babies and triggered serious questions over fire safety, emergency preparedness and hospital management.

The blaze broke out early Wednesday, August 26, in the Mother and Child Health (MCH) Ward on the third floor of the hospital. While the Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) initial fire report recorded seven infant deaths and seven successful evacuations, hospital sources and eyewitness accounts put the death toll at 14 newborns.

The CDA’s Directorate of Emergency and Disaster Management said its control room received the emergency call at 6:54am. Fire crews were dispatched a minute later and reached PIMS in about six minutes, where they encountered dense smoke.

The preliminary report identified an electrical short circuit or an overloaded plug connected to an air-conditioning unit as the likely cause of the fire. Hospital sources, however, claimed that oxygen connections may have contributed to the rapid spread of the flames.

More alarming than the suspected cause were the safety deficiencies identified at the hospital. The CDA found that fire and life-safety arrangements were below required standards, while emergency exits and escape routes were reportedly locked or obstructed. The report also stated that hospital security personnel hindered firefighters during the initial response and that crowd management at the scene was inadequate.

Fire officials separately reported difficulties involving the hospital’s firefighting infrastructure, including a lack of water at fire points and missing couplings. Six fire tenders, six ambulances, a rescue vehicle and 44 personnel were deployed during the emergency operation.

The tragedy plunged families into grief as relatives gathered outside the hospital. One father, whose newborn daughter was reportedly only three days old, described the devastation of losing his child while waiting outside the ward. Other parents questioned why access to the neonatal area was restricted during the emergency and alleged that they were unable to reach their children when the fire broke out.

Hospital officials disputed some of the claims surrounding locked access, saying the relevant entrance was manned rather than locked. However, the conflicting accounts have intensified demands for an independent investigation into what happened inside the ward and whether lives could have been saved through a faster internal response.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered an immediate investigation into the incident and directed authorities to determine responsibility. A probe committee has been instructed to submit its findings within 24 hours, while calls have grown for an independent investigation and strict action against anyone found negligent.

The incident has also renewed concerns about safety standards in Pakistan’s public hospitals, where overcrowding, inadequate infrastructure and weak emergency preparedness can magnify the consequences of relatively contained accidents.

As grieving families seek answers, the central question remains whether the deaths could have been prevented. The findings of the investigation are now expected to determine whether failures in hospital safety, emergency response and management contributed to one of the country’s most tragic hospital fire incidents in recent years.