SB fire evokes memories of 2016 horror

Bhubaneswar: The SCB Medical College and Hospital fire in Cuttack in the early hours of Monday evoked memories of another devastating blaze a decade ago.On the evening of Oct 17, 2016, a fire broke out in the dialysis unit on the second floor of private SUM medical college and hospital in Bhubaneswar, claiming 21 lives.

The fire war reportedly triggered by a short circuit.

Within minutes, thick smoke had engulfed the ward, sparking panic with patients and attendants scrambling to escape.Many died of suffocation while being shifted to nearby facilities. Fire personnel had faced enormous difficulty entering the smoke-filled unit and had to improvise rescue methods. More than 120 firefighters and nearly 10 fire tenders had been pressed into service to control the blaze and evacuate patients.

Following the incident, several hospital employees, including senior management officials, were arrested. In its FIR, Odisha Fire Service had said that the hospital had earlier been warned about gaps in fire-safety preparedness and held that the deaths had resulted from gross negligence. Public outrage intensified, with many drawing parallels to previous hospital fire disasters across the country.