ISLAMABAD: As authorities investigate the fire that killed newborns at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), accounts from two affected women whose newborn family members were in the nursery have raised serious questions about the presence of medical and nursing staff, access to the neonatal intensive care unit and the response during the critical minutes of the blaze.
One woman, who said she was the aunt of a newborn, said hospital staff fled without informing families about the fire and that she rescued baby after another woman raised the alarm.
The other woman, a mother whose baby died in the fire, questioned the absence of doctors and nurses and alleged that she found the NICU locked when she tried to reach her baby.
The accounts come from videos recorded at the scene and circulated on social media by identifiable journalists and established media accounts. Medical News Pakistan is publishing the women's statements as firsthand accounts of what they say they experienced. The original videos can be viewed through the links accompanying their respective accounts.
Mother says she found NICU locked as fire raged
A mother, who said her baby was born three days ago in PIMS via c-section and lost life in the fire, described an extremely distressing scene after the blaze began.
She alleged that no doctor, nurse or NICU doctor was present when the fire broke out, apart from people who were trying to save their own children or otherwise responding to the emergency.
She said she herself ran towards the NICU but found the unit locked.
The woman questioned why the NICU had been locked while newborns were inside and why medical and nursing staff were not present.
She also alleged that three doctors, including Dr Ramsha and two NICU doctors, arrived much later from downstairs, questioning why they were not already inside the unit when the fire began.
If established, however, the timing and location of medical staff would be central to understanding the emergency response. Investigators can potentially establish this through CCTV footage, staff attendance records, duty rosters, access logs and other hospital records.
Woman says she rescued baby as fire spread
Another woman, whose nephew was also in the nursery, described an equally traumatic experience.
She said the fire broke out at around 6am and alleged that hospital staff fled without informing mothers that the nursery was on fire.
She said another woman raised the alarm after noticing the fire.
The woman, who is aunt of the baby, said that by the time she reached the nursery, the fire had spread, prompting her to pick up the baby and escape while also helping other women leave the area.
She further alleged that after reaching downstairs and trying to leave the building, hospital staff locked and stopped them from going outside, telling them they could not leave because the news would spread.
Were families left to respond to the fire themselves?
The two accounts converge on one particularly troubling question: what happened in the first minutes after the fire was discovered?
The woman who rescued her nephew said she was not informed by hospital staff and only became aware of the danger after another woman raised the alarm.
She then said she entered the danger area, picked up her baby and helped other women escape.
The mother who lost her newborn baby similarly questioned where doctors, nurses and NICU staff were when the fire started.
Their accounts therefore shift the focus beyond the cause of the fire to what happened inside and around the nursery once the emergency began.
Locked NICU allegation adds to safety questions
The allegation that the NICU was locked is another issue investigators will need to investigate.
The mother said she personally ran towards the NICU and found it locked during the emergency.
The allegation is particularly significant because questions have also emerged about access to the affected ward during the fire.
The women’s accounts make one question especially important: was any security arrangement restricting access still in place when families and staff needed to reach the newborns?
Investigators will need to establish whether the unit was actually locked, why it may have been locked, who had access to it and when it was opened.
CCTV footage, access records and statements from staff and families could help establish the sequence.
She also described what she said was a distressing 15-day experience at PIMS, alleging that nursing staff did not move until their palms were greased and that doctors did not listen to patients.
She also said she was pressured to undergo a caesarean section despite being reluctant to go to the operating theatre, but agreed because she feared her baby's care would be affected.
These firsthand accounts underline the depth of distress among families affected by the tragedy and the urgency of providing them with clear, documented answers.
What investigators need to establish
The two accounts do not establish why the fire started or prove that hospital staff abandoned the nursery.
They do, however, raise specific questions that can be independently investigated:
- Who was present inside the nursery when the fire began?
- Were doctors, nurses and NICU staff on duty and physically present?
- Were families informed immediately after the fire was detected?
- Was the NICU locked during the emergency?
- Why was the NICU inaccessible, if it was locked?
- When did the doctors reportedly arrive at the unit?
- Who initiated the evacuation?
- How were newborns removed from incubators and oxygen support?
- When was the emergency call made?
- How quickly did firefighters reach the nursery?
- What do CCTV footage and staff duty records show?
These questions now sit alongside the preliminary PIMS finding that a ruptured oxygen-related device near an incubator may have triggered the blaze.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has ordered a high-level inquiry, while the Islamabad administration has constituted a separate fact-finding committee to examine the cause of the fire, fire-safety arrangements and the emergency response.
For the families waiting for answers, investigators will need to establish not only what caused the fire, but also who was present, who responded, whether the NICU was accessible and what happened during the crucial first minutes of the emergency.
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