Chandigarh: Minor fire at PGIMER Advanced Trauma Centre

A minor fire broke out in a corridor on the fifth floor of Advanced Trauma Centre at PGIMER on Tuesday evening.
No one was injured and patient services were also not impacted, as the fire broke out in the elevator area and was doused by hospital staff within minutes.
This was the fourth fire incident at PGIMER in the past five months and the first in 2024. Initial findings suggest it was caused by an electric spark.
The Advanced Trauma Centre caters to patients with traumatic injuries, mostly those sustained in road accidents.
Nursing staff and security guard noticed smoke in the false ceiling area, and promptly alerted hospital’s fire department. The fire team, along with security guards, responded to the scene and put out the fire within few minutes.
As per the fire officer at the fire station in Sector 11, they rushed two fire tenders to the centre after receiving information at 4.23 pm. But the fire was already brought under control by the hospital staff.
Last year, the campus saw two major fire incidents in October 2023. The first was a blaze at Nehru Hospital on October 10, 2023, where 424 patients, including pregnant women and newborn babies, were evacuated. Another fire followed within a week, this time at the Advanced Eye Centre, on October 16. In both cases, sparking in the UPS batteries was the cause of fire. Another fire erupted near the laundry plant on November 21, 2023. Though no one was injured, the reason behind the fire remains unknown.