Barishal's Sher-e-Bangla Hospital opens probe into fire incident

BARISHAL, Oct 14 (bdnews24.com): A committee has been formed to investigate the cause and damage of a fire that broke out on the ground floor of the medicine building at Barishal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital.

Patient admissions in the medicine department will remain suspended until the fire site is declared safe for use, said the hospital's Assistant Director Rezwanul Alam Rayhan.

The fire ignited in a storage room around 9pm on Sunday, with gauze bandages, cotton, and foam mattresses contributing to the rapid spread of flames and smoke.

Although the incident caused panic among patients, no injuries were reported.

Nine units from the Fire Service extinguished the flames after two hours of effort.

Rezwanul said the six-strong committee has been instructed to submit a report within three working days.

The committee comprises the head of the medicine department, an executive engineer from the Public Works Department, the deputy director of the Fire Service, representatives of the district administration and police, and the senior store officer of the hospital. The assistant director said patients currently admitted in the affected department are being treated in different wards of an older building.

He added that no new patients are being admitted to the medicine department, and under the health director's orders, patients are being sent to Barishal Sadar Hospital.

Acting Divisional Director for Health Shyamal Krishna Mondal said furniture and other items, including mattresses, mosquito nets, and bed sheets, stored in the room have been destroyed.

Water remains on-site from the fire service's efforts to extinguish the blaze. The other four floors of the building only suffered smoke damage, and no significant loss has occurred there. Shyamal said actions will be taken based on discussions with the engineers and relevant parties.

He expressed hope that the process of relocating patients to the building will commence shortly. The health director mentioned that rehabilitating patients will take time, estimating at least three days to complete.

"Except for the ground floor, the remaining floors will be operational for patient care. However, normal operations on the ground floor will take longer to resume," he added.