ATHENS — A fireplace broke out on Wednesday in a Covid ward at a hospital in Thessaloniki, a metropolis in northern Greece, killing one individual and severely injuring no less than two others, mentioned Vassilis Vathrakoyiannis, a spokesman for Greece’s hearth service.
It’s the newest of a number of lethal fires at hospitals treating coronavirus sufferers in numerous components of the world for the reason that pandemic started.
The hearth, which occurred at Papanikolaou hospital, broke out at about 9 a.m. native time and was contained by firefighters despatched to the scene inside 5 minutes, however thick smoke engulfed a number of wards and slowed the seek for survivors, Mr. Vathrakoyiannis mentioned.
“Throughout an inspection of the ward, firefighters discovered a burned man and two burn victims,” Mr. Vathrakoyiannis mentioned, including that greater than 30patients have been moved outdoors the hospital.
It was not instantly clear what brought about the fireplace, however preliminary testimony by different sufferers within the ward steered {that a} man had “set hearth to his garments,” although it was unclear whether or not this had been unintentional, Mr. Vathrakoyiannis mentioned.
The top of the ward, Diamantis Chloros, mentioned he was in his workplace when the on-duty physician alerted him. “I heard her shouting, ‘Hearth! Fast!’ after which noticed smoke billowing out of the ward like there had been an explosion,” he mentioned. “I attempted to exit into the hall. There was thick smoke coming into my workplace.”
There was no hearth detection system on the clinic, which is typical of outdated hospitals, he mentioned.
“There are oxygen tanks within the clinic and plenty of flammable materials, sheets, blankets, plastic, so this is able to have actually fueled the fireplace,” he mentioned and added that some sufferers got oxygen within the hospital yard after they have been evacuated.
In what seems to have been essentially the most critical hearth at a ward treating coronavirus sufferers, no less than 92 individuals died in July at a hospital within the metropolis of Nasiriya in southern Iraq. There have been additionally lethal fires final 12 months at hospitals in Romania, India and North Macedonia.