Ventilator Fire in Amravati NICU Kills Three Newborns, Fadnavis Orders Inquiry

Fire Breaks Out at 3:15 AM

A ventilator caught fire around 3:15 a.m. Monday in the outborn babies' section of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Amravati's District Women's Hospital, according to Amravati Police Commissioner Rakesh Ola, who spoke to PTI. The unit was housing 39 newborns across three sections at the time.

Three infants died from severe burns and smoke inhalation, according to Gorakhnath Jadhav, Senior Police Inspector at Gadage Nagar Police Station, who spoke to The Hindu. Six other babies in the same section were rescued. Ola said the fire was contained within roughly 10 to 15 minutes.

Six infants were later moved to a super-speciality hospital, and four more were sent to the Divisional Referral Services Hospital, where one remains in critical condition, according to Maharashtra Revenue Minister and Amravati Guardian Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, who posted the update on X.

36 Rescued, Staff Credited With Evacuation

Of the 39 newborns in the NICU, 36 were pulled out safely. Doctors, nurses and hospital security staff rushed into the smoke-filled ward and began disconnecting medical equipment to move infants out, according to accounts relayed by Bawankule and confirmed in reporting from Business Standard and The Hindu.

Yogesh Savarkar, whose eight-day-old son was in the ward, told The New Indian Express he ran upstairs and carried his baby down himself after the fire broke out. "My child was on the first floor, and I personally went and brought him down. However, I could see black ashes on the other children in the hospital," Savarkar said. He credited a security guard for reaching the ward first and a nurse for helping save other infants.

Parents Blame Hospital, Question Fire Safety Systems

Relatives of children in the ward told PTI they believe the hospital's water spray system failed to activate when the fire broke out, and that it should have triggered immediately.

A crowd gathered outside the hospital after the incident, with parents openly blaming the administration for the tragedy, according to Business Standard.

Congress MLA Sulbha Sanjay Khodke, who represents Amravati, called it "a truly tragic incident" involving premature, low-birth-weight infants who needed intensive monitoring. She told ANI there were nine patients in the affected unit, three of whom died, and said preliminary indications point to an electrical issue, but stressed that "the full details will only be known after an inquiry is conducted." Khodke has formally requested a thorough investigation.

Opposition leaders more broadly demanded stringent action against anyone found negligent, along with statewide fire and electrical safety audits of hospitals, according to Business Standard.

State Response

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered a high-level inquiry and said the state would pay Rs 5 lakh (roughly $6,000) in financial assistance to the family of each infant who died. He called the incident "extremely tragic and heartbreaking" and directed Maharashtra's health minister and health secretary to visit Amravati Monday to assess the situation, according to Rediff.

Fadnavis also ordered that injured children receive treatment at government expense and said the strictest action would be taken against anyone found responsible, per Business Standard's reporting.

Bawankule, writing in Marathi on X, said he was "deeply saddened" and that his "heart is shaken," offering condolences to the deceased infants' families. He said the government is providing full medical assistance to those still being treated and remains in constant contact with the district administration.

What's Still Unknown

The precise cause of the ventilator fire has not been determined. ANI reported that preliminary information points to an electrical malfunction, but authorities say the exact sequence of events awaits the outcome of the inquiry Fadnavis ordered.

The claim from parents that the sprinkler or water spray system failed to activate is a serious allegation that, if confirmed, would point to a maintenance or safety-compliance failure at a government-run facility treating some of the most medically vulnerable patients in the hospital system.

ANI's reporting also notes Amravati has experienced a prior NICU fire incident, which has renewed scrutiny of fire and electrical safety standards in India's critical-care units generally.