BANNU: A fire broke out in the urology ward of Khalifa Gul Nawaz Teaching Hospital here on Monday. However, all patients in the ward were evacuated to a safe location, Rescue 1122 said in a statement.
It added that rescue 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.
Mohammad Noman, a spokesman for the hospital, told Dawn that the fire broke out at around 10am, and initial information suggested an electric spark caused the blaze.
The hospital staff and rescue teams immediately evacuated the patients and began efforts to extinguish the fire, he 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, Islamabad, staff were given special training in dealing with fire emergencies.
“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. — Correspondent