Islamabad, Jan 19: Three Out Patient Department units and a laboratory were completely gutted in a devastating fire which broke out in the district hospital here Tuesday morning.
 However, the firemen prevented the fire from spreading to the nearby administrative block and the other OPD sections. The patients, in the indoor block were evacuated by the local police for precautionary measures and shifted to the maternity hospital.
 The paramedics and doctors who witnessed the incident told Greater Kashmir, “It was 7:30 AM that the fire erupted from the pathology laboratory and soon engulfed the nearby OPD sections of Ophthalmology, Eye Nose Throat (ENT) and Dental causing severe damage to them. The administration block, however was partially damaged in the incident. The firemen however, reached the spot immediately and prevented the fire from spreading further.”
 Panic gripped in the hospital and the patients and attendants ran helter skelter.
 “I was attending my father in the surgery ward when I heard the screams of people in the hospital and soon we came out to see the OPD section in flames. Many patients and attendants ran for safety. However, the police reached on the spot immediately and asked us not to panic. They evacuated the patients and shifted them to maternity and children hospital in Sherbagh,” an attendant Abdul Hameed said.   
 Sources in the hospital said the building had suffered huge losses as all three sections of the pathology and biochemistry lab bearing some costly equipment were completely gutted. The equipment included Blood bank refrigerator, ILR, Deep freezer and biochemical equipments.
 The dental section they said was also damaged, but x-ray plant was saved while in the ophthalmic section, the ultrasonic scale and light cure machines had got damaged.
 The ENT and dermatology section has also been partially damaged, they added.
 The hospital Medical Superintendent, Gulzar Ahmad when contacted said, “We are still assessing the losses and we will exactly know it by tomorrow. But luckily all the official record in the administrative section is safe.”

Lastupdate on : Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 IST