Fire at Chennai’s Rajiv Gandhi govt hospital; no casualties, 33 patients shifted

A major fire broke out at the Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital in Tamil Nadu’s Chennai at 11 am on 27.04.2022. An electrical short circuit caused the fire accident in the ground floor of one of the old blocks of the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH). The accident created panic among the patients and the hospital authorities. The fire was noticed in the storage room of the Bradfield surgical block. 

The Fire and Rescue Services personnel acted fast and brought the fire under control. More than four vehicles including from Washermanpet, Royapuram, Korukkupet, and Mylapore, were deployed to extinguish the fire. The oxygen cylinders were safely removed from the block. Aerial Ladder Platform Vehicle was also put into service to douse the fire. 

Patients were moved (some were lifted on plastic chairs) to a safe location in the second floor. Once the smoke subsided, they were shifted to a different block within the hospital premises. A total of 33 patients, including three from the ICU, were shifted.