The Times Of India, Thane TNN | Apr 14, 2016, 04.09 PM IST
THANE: A blaze in the electric meter box fitted at the ground floor of the Thane Health Care hospital compelled the authorities to evacuate the patients and their relatives to safety on Tuesday. The fire was brought under control soon and no injuries or casualties were reported.
Fire brigade officials said the blaze could have started due to a short circuit in the electric meter room. The dense smoke filled the ground floor and soon spread to the adjoining rooms triggering panic as the relatives and the patients scrambled to safety.
As many as seven patients were shifted out of the hospital and were sitting outside till the fire was doused and the smoke cleared. “It was a small fire and we could bring it under control in a few minutes and we just had to use two fire extinguishers,” said an official from the fire department.
One of the onlookers claimed that a patient was supposed to be operated just before the meter box caught fire. “The patient was lucky that before the operation took place the incident occurred, otherwise his/her case would have got complicated as it would have been difficult to move the patient out,” said an onlooker on the basis of anonymity.
