Minor Fire Incident in Advance Eye Centre At PGI on 16.10.2023
Chandigarh, 16th October 2023- A fire incident at the Advance Eye Centre of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGI) in Chandigarh, India was reported to have taken place on today morning around 9:25 am.
Due to early morning storm & thunder the UT grid underwent a power fluctuation around that time which caused the power backup system of the Advance Eye Centre to trip a few times. Shortly afterward, at 9:25 a.m., the security guard who was posted in the electrical installation area detected some smoke in the UPS (uninterrupted power supply) room of the AEC basement and immediately informed the fire department. Quick action was taken, and the fire was brought under control within five minutes of the call. All the higher officers viz. Dr. N.K. Panda, Officiating Director, Sh. Kumar Gaurav Dhawan, DDA, Dr. Vipin Kaushal, Medical Superintendent PGIMER reached the spot to access & expedite the work of restoration of patient care.
To ensure the safety and security of the patients and medical staff, the OPD services were suspended for two hours due to smoke in the building. However, after assessing the situation, the OPD services were restored and no injuries or damage to property were reported.
“We appreciate the timely response of the security guard and the fire department of PGI as well as the administration in responding to the situation immediately. The Advanced Eye Center deeply apologizes to its patients for inconvenience caused by the temporary suspension of the OPD and other services”, said Dr. S.S. Pandav, HOD, Advance Eye Centre.
Appropriate measures to ensure that such incidents do not occur again in the future are being taken by assessing the causes of the incident.