Fourteen newborn babies died after a fire swept through the neonatal nursery at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad on August 26, raising serious questions about fire safety, emergency exits, oxygen systems and the hospital’s response.
PIMS officials said 15 newborns were in the nursery when the fire broke out and that one baby was rescued. The blaze occurred on the third floor of the Mother and Child Health Ward.
The precise cause of the fire has not yet been conclusively established. Initial accounts pointed to an electrical fault or a malfunction involving an air-conditioning unit. A preliminary PIMS account said a spark was detected inside the nursery at about 6:38am, followed by a rapid escalation of the fire.
The presence of oxygen appears to have played an important role in how quickly the flames spread. Most of the newborns were receiving oxygen or were in incubators connected to oxygen points. Oxygen itself is not combustible, but an oxygen-enriched environment can cause materials to burn much more rapidly and intensely.
PIMS said two doctors and two nurses were on duty inside the nursery and immediately attempted to respond. The hospital said staff rescued one newborn from the nursery, while four other babies and three mothers were evacuated from an adjoining room. It also said 73 patients from the adjacent gynaecology ward were moved to safety.
However, questions remain over the building’s fire-protection arrangements. The federal health minister said the affected area did not have a sprinkler system and that fire extinguishers were used to fight the blaze. PIMS later said all 35 available fire extinguishers were deployed.
A preliminary fire incident report attributed to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) raised more serious concerns. According to reports citing the document, fire and life-safety arrangements at the nursery were considered inadequate and below required standards. The report also said emergency exits or access routes were permanently locked from outside or obstructed and that hospital security staff hindered the initial response of firefighters.
Those findings conflict with PIMS management’s account. The hospital administration said its emergency exits were open and operational, while Executive Director Dr Imran Sikandar rejected claims that the rescue operation was obstructed. The conflicting accounts are now among the issues being examined by investigators.
The speed of the emergency response has also become disputed. CDA-related reporting says the emergency call was received at 6:54am and the first response team reached the hospital at about 7:01am. Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry separately said rescue teams reached PIMS within six minutes of receiving the alert.
Witnesses and relatives, however, gave a different account, alleging that they waited for a considerable period before emergency personnel reached the affected area. These allegations have not been independently established and contrast with the official response timeline.
The issue of access to the nursery has also generated conflicting claims. Some relatives alleged that the nursery door was locked when the fire began. PIMS management denied that the door was locked, while explaining that controlled access had been introduced because of previous incidents involving the theft or abduction of newborns from hospitals.
The government has launched multiple investigations. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered a high-level inquiry and suspended Federal Health Secretary Aslam Ghouri following an emergency meeting. A federal committee headed by retired federal secretary Shahid Khan was tasked with determining the cause and timeline of the fire, reviewing emergency procedures and fire-safety infrastructure, and identifying any negligence.
The federal inquiry committee has been given 48 hours to submit an interim report with immediate recommendations and five days to submit a comprehensive report. Separately, the Islamabad administration constituted another fact-finding committee with a 24-hour reporting deadline to examine the cause of the fire, safety arrangements and the effectiveness of the rescue response. For now, the deaths of 14 newborns are confirmed by PIMS and government officials. But important questions surrounding the exact ignition point, the condition and accessibility of emergency exits, the adequacy of fire-protection systems and the effectiveness of the initial response remain subject to investigation.
Conflicting reports:
There is a significant disagreement over the condition of emergency exits. PIMS said all emergency exits were operational, while reporting based on a CDA fire incident report says emergency exits/access routes were permanently locked or obstructed.
There is also disagreement over the response timeline. CDA-related reporting records the first response at approximately 7:01am following a 6:54am emergency call, while Talal Chaudhry described the response as occurring within six minutes. Witnesses alleged a much slower response.
