Jaipur, Oct 6: At least eight patients were killed in a devastating fire that broke out late Sunday night in the ICU ward of the trauma centre at Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital, Jaipur’s largest state-run medical facility. The incident has triggered public outrage, with families of victims and eyewitnesses alleging gross negligence, lack of safety measures, and abandonment by hospital staff during the crisis.
The deceased have been identified as Pintu (Sikar), Dileep (Aandhi, Jaipur), Shrinath, Rukmani, and Kushma (all from Bharatpur), Sarvesh (Agra, UP), Bahadur (Sanganer, Jaipur), and Digambar Verma.
The blaze reportedly started around 11:20 p.m. in the store room of the neuro ICU, which housed medical records, equipment, and blood sample containers. Although the exact cause is yet to be confirmed, preliminary suspicions point to a possible short circuit.
At the time of the incident, 11 patients were inside the affected ICU, with another 13 in a nearby ward. By the time fire crews arrived, the ward was filled with dense, toxic smoke, making direct access nearly impossible. Firefighters had to break windows on the opposite side of the building to spray water jets inside. It took nearly two hours to fully extinguish the fire.
Scenes of chaos unfolded as desperate family members, with little or no assistance from hospital staff, were seen carrying critically ill patients some on beds outside the smoke-filled building. Many of those in the ICU were comatose or incapacitated, unable to move on their own.
In a deeply disturbing turn, several grieving families have accused hospital staff of ignoring early warnings and fleeing the scene once the fire broke out. “We smelled smoke and alerted the staff, but they did nothing. When the fire started, they ran away leaving the patients behind,” a relative told reporters, echoing similar claims made by others.
These accusations were directly voiced to Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma during his visit to the site on Monday. Many families also expressed anger over the lack of communication and information from hospital authorities during the tragedy.
Eyewitness accounts have exposed alarming lapses in fire safety protocols at the hospital. Relatives claimed there was no working firefighting equipment inside the ICU - no extinguishers, no water sources, and no visible fire alarms. “There was no way to stop the fire. Not a single extinguisher was there,” said a family member of one victim.
The hospital, considered Rajasthan’s premier government medical institution, is now facing intense scrutiny over these alleged failures.
Chief Minister Sharma has announced a high-level inquiry to investigate the incident. A dedicated committee will look into the cause of the fire, the emergency response by hospital authorities, and the availability and functioning of fire safety equipment
The Chief Minister canceled a scheduled trip to Delhi in light of the crisis. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top leaders have expressed condolences to the bereaved families.
The incident has raised serious concerns about patient safety in government hospitals across the country. As the investigation unfolds, the focus will remain on accountability both for the lives lost and the systemic lapses that allowed such a tragedy to occur in one of Rajasthan’s most prominent hospitals.
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