No casualties reported as fire breaks out in Bannu hospital's urology ward

BANNU: No casualties were reported after a fire broke out in the urology ward of Khalifa Gul Nawaz Teaching Hospital on Monday.

All patients in the ward were evacuated to a safe location, Rescue 1122 said in a statement, adding that its personnel reached the hospital within approximately five minutes of receiving the emergency call.

“The fire was brought under control within approximately 10 minutes,” it added.

The spokesperson for the hospital, which is also known as the Medical Teaching Institution (MTI) Bannu, told Dawn that the fire broke out at around 10am and initial information suggested that it was caused by an “electric spark”.

The hospital staff and rescue teams immediately evacuated the patients and began efforts to extinguish the fire, Mohammad Noman said, adding that timely action prevented the fire from spreading.

He said that following the recent fire incident at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in Islamabad, the staff were given special training in dealing with fire emergencies and responding promptly to emergency situations.

“That training was put into practical use during today’s incident,” he added.

“The staff’s training, rapid response and coordinated efforts with rescue teams played a key role in preventing what could have been a major accident,” he said.

The incident comes less than two weeks after a fire at Pims in Islamabad killed 14 infants. Witnesses said they waited hours for emergency services and were forced to smash windows to reach the affected ward, while some alleged that doors were locked.

The tragedy sparked outrage and calls for accountability, with authorities ramping up fire safety measures in other provinces.

On Saturday, a similar incident was reported at Sheikh Zayed Medical College Hospital (SZMCH) in Punjab’s Rahim Yar Khan, where a fire broke out in an operating theatre during a surgical procedure.

The fire was reportedly caused by faulty electrical wiring, prompting doctors and paramedical staff to suspend the procedure and shift the patient to a safe location.