DOZENS of patients were evacuated yesterday from the state-run Philippine General Hospital in Ermita, Manila after fire broke out in its main building.
No one was reported hurt.
Director Louie Puracan, chief of the Bureau of Fire Protection, said the fire was declared under control at 3:45 p.m. Fire out was declared at 4:30 p.m.
Puracan also said they are still determining what caused the fire and the cost of damage.
“We are going to establish that (cause of fire) upon inspection of the damaged items and gathering of affidavits (from witnesses),” he said.
PGH spokesperson Jonas del Rosario said in a radio interview the fire started at the Department of Medicine’s audio visual room and affected a portion of Ward 1 as well as Wards 2, 3 and 4. The patients were moved to other rooms
“No patient so far reported issues from smoke inhalation,” he also said, adding that 180 patients, including eight from the intensive care unit, were temporarily evacuated.
Dr Rodney Dofitas, PGH deputy director for health operations, said all patients in Wards 1 to 4, including the ICU, were moved to the atrium of the hospital when fire started at 2:38 pm in the Audio-Visual Room of the Department of Medicine.
After a fire out was declared, the patients were returned to their wards.
“Business as usual except in the emergency room (ER),” he said.
“We will temporarily close admissions to the ER, until further notice,” he added.
Dofitas said all their utilities have also been restored with the damage confined to the Audio-Visual Room.
Smoke billowed from the PGH compound as fire trucks arrived while hospital and rescue personnel scrambled to move the patients, including from the cancer ward, to safety.
The BFP raised the first alarm at 3:09 p.m. and the second at 3:11 p.m. A second alarm means six or more fire trucks have been dispatched to help put out a blaze. Thirteen fire trucks in total responded to the fire.
The Department of Health said it offered assistance to UP-PGH for the transfer of patients to various DOH hospitals.
“DOH remains on standby should the situation require transfers,” it added.
The DOH said it has also ordered all its hospitals to review their fire evacuation plans and conduct risk analyses for fire prevention on their premises
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said it monitored moderate to heavy traffic in the area due to the fire but traffic flow eased after the fire was put out.
To recall, in 2021 a huge fire also hit PGH, including the building that supports its surgeries, prompting authorities to evacuate patients, including those who suffered from COVID-19. — With Victor Reyes and Gerard Naval
