HSA Fire: More shocking revelations

JOHOR BARU: There were warning signs earlier that the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Sultanah Aminah Hospital was a fire hazard but whether these signs were heeded remains unclear.
In a shocking revelation today, the Fire and Rescue Department said a fire broke out in the ICU some 10 days before the major fire that claimed six lives on Tuesday.
According to Johor Baru Fire and Rescue chief Ibrahim Omar, the earlier fire occurred on Oct 15.
"We got a call about the fire due to a faulty socket that burst into flames in the ICU ward of the hospital, but by the time we got there the fire had already been put out by hospital staff," he said.
He added that after investigations were carried out, he had suggested that the hospital's engineering department do tests on the sockets in the ward.
Another shocking revelation is that the hospital had not conducted a fire drill for its staff for at least two years since 2014.
Ibrahim, who assumed his post in 2014, said the department never conducted a drill there.
"We haven't had one since I have been here, I don't know when the last one was, it could have been way back in 2009," he told reporters at a press conference at the hospital.
He said that if there were fire drills and the ICU block had a first response team, the recovery of victims would have been faster.
He said most parts of the hospital had a first response team except for the ICU ward.
"When we got there everyone had panicked and there was chaos because there wasn't a first response team," he said.
He said that it's a legal requirement that every building has a first response team.
It was reported earlier that the ICU had no heat or smoke detectors and sprinklers were only in the corridors.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said the hospital's main building which includes the east and west blocks will be shut down for two to four weeks pending investigations into the fire.
"In this shut down period, services like our Accident and Emergency ward, Central Sterile Services department and blood bank and will be closed," he said at a press conference at the hospital today.
He urged the public to seek treatment from other hospitals in the state, where possible.
He also added that they might have to enlist the help of the private sector to carry the load of these patients.
When asked about the safety and certificate of fitness of the building Subramaniam said that there had been many phases of renovation in the hospital over the years and at all times, the State Fire department had given its approval.