Fire engulfs ICU at Steve Biko Hospital

Steve Biko Hospital

Cape Town — The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Tshwane was engulfed in smoke this morning after a fire broke out.

Tshwane emergency services were dispatched to the scene before 1am as firefighters from three different stations fought to put out the flames. When they arrived, management and staff had already evacuated the patients and firefighters began assisting staff to usher patients to wards that were not affected by the fire, TimesLIVE reported.

Tshwane emergency spokesperson, Lindsay Mnguni said the firefighters determined that the uninterrupted power system (UPSS containing lithium-ion batteries was the cause of the fire.
“On further investigation, the firefighters discovered that the uninterrupted power system (UPS) that consists of lithium-ion batteries that serve as a backup system in the case of a power failure, were on fire in the plant room on the seventh floor. One of the hospital’s electricians came and isolated the power supply to these batteries to stop them from further damage,” Mnguni said.

According to News24, 20 adult patients and one child were evacuated from the ICU on the sixth floor and moved to a different ward unaffected by the fire.

He explained that firefighters had used three mechanical positive-pressure ventilation units to eject the smoke that engulfed the ICU on the sixth floor.

“Apart from immediately commencing firefighting operations, the firefighters also assisted with evacuating patients and staff to other wards of the hospital not affected by the fire,” he added.

Mnguni said the fire was eventually extinguished around 04:42. The cause of the fire has not been determined and there were no fatalities or injuries reported.

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Compiled by Matthew Petersen

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