Cuttack, Nov. 29: A newborn was injured in a fire that broke out at 7am at the neonatal unit of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Post Graduate Institute of Paediatrics, popularly known as Sishu Bhavan, here today.

The 21-day-old baby from Kendrapara sustained burn injuries. Twenty other babies had a close shave today, official sources said. Two fire tenders were pressed into action and they took nearly 30 minutes to douse the flame.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the fire was caused due to a short circuit and the state government has ordered a detailed probe into the incident. It has now raised questions on the available fire safety measures at the paediatric unit in the city.

Though the hospital authorities claimed that advanced fire-fighting equipment were re-installed last year, the fire alarm did not function at the time of emergency today, sources said.

Sukanti Sethi, chief fire officer said there were advanced fire systems, including hydrant and risers, but they needed to be operated manually.

"It appears that the medical staff had not taken preventive steps for which the fire engulfed the entire cabin. Luckily, it was confined to a single room after two fire tenders took control of the situation," said Sethi. He also said that the fire could have been controlled if adequate training was provided to the medical staff to deal with such an emergency situation.

As there was no other combustible material inside the cabin, timely action would have saved a lot of property as nearly six air conditioners, 25 photo therapy machines, 25 warmers and eight ventilators were partly gutted in the fire.

"The hospital administration took appropriate measures to evacuate the babies. A high-level probe has been ordered into the incident," said health minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak. Based on the report, necessary action will be taken to streamline the deficiencies, he added.

"My baby was inside the warmer when its bulb exploded and the entire machine caught fire within a few seconds," said Abhimanyu Sahu, the father of the injured infant.

Sahu alleged that the nurses, who were present inside the ward, had panicked after the entire machine caught fire. The entire incident could have been averted if the medical staff had switched off the machine, he added.

The attendants alleged that most of the warmers inside the ward were being operated round the clock, while some machines had also developed technical snag in the past one week.

"The hospital authorities are to be blamed as they did not pay any heed to the repeated complaints by the attendants over technical snags in the power supply," said Chetram Gupta, an attendant from Bhadrak.

Gupta alleged that his nephew was admitted in the hospital last week and one of his relatives had received an electric shock from the warmer due to inconsistent power supply.

"Most of the attendants are procuring 200 watt bulbs for the warmer machines. But it is the responsibility of the authorities to ensure regular maintenance of the machines so that there is no such mishap," said Gupta.

The entire block, including the corridor having connectivity to the ICU, was filled with smoke following the fire.

A one-and-half-month-old baby, who was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), died after the hospital staff snapped the oxygen supply for sometime after the fire broke out, alleged the infant's father Debasish Parida.

The ICU is on the same floor as that of the neonatal unit. "I had come to see my son who was admitted to the ICU. I suddenly saw smoke billowing from the neonatal unit. As there was no medical staff, I had to break the glass panel of the door to rescue a baby who was left inside the ward," said Parida, who lives in Kendrapara.

"The hospital staff had snapped the oxygen supply to the ICU after the fire broke out. As a result, the condition of my son deteriorated and he later died," Parida said.

However, he has not lodged any complaint so far. When contacted, a senior hospital official said they had not received any complaint regarding death of any child undergoing treatment in the ICU.

"Our attendants, as well as stewards, had taken proper measures for which a major tragedy was averted. We have ordered a high-level probe into the incident," said Saroj Satpathy, superintendent of the hospital. There were nearly 21 infants at the neonatal block when the fire broke out this morning.

The hospital had re-installed advanced fire fighting equipment at an estimated cost of Rs 54 lakh last year.

A probe will also be conducted to ascertain whether there were defects in the fire fighting systems, an official said.