Infant who survived PIMS nursery fire dies after days in ICU

The only infant who survived a fire at the nursery of Islamabad’s Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) has died while undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU).

The infant, Aizal, was rescued by a nurse during the fire that claimed the lives of 14 newborns at the hospital. She was subsequently shifted to the ICU for treatment.

According to the infant’s mother, Asifa Bibi, Aizal was six months and 10 days old and had been born on August 12. She said the infant was affected by smoke inhalation and was the couple’s first child.

Asifa said the family had hoped for the infant’s recovery following the fire.

A comprehensive inquiry into the Pims nursery fire that killed 14 newborns has concluded that an electrical fault in the supply cable of air conditioner number two was the most probable cause of ignition, but that the catastrophe resulted from "systematic and institutional failures".

The report found that the fire became visible at approximately 6:38am and dense smoke engulfed the nursery within one to two minutes, leaving an "exceptionally narrow rescue window."

The emergency was not reported to the Capital Emergency Service until 6:54am — a 16-minute gap the committee identified as a principal chronological concern, though CES itself responded within minutes of confirmed notification.

The committee established that the fire did not result from arson, multiple ignition points, an external IESCO fault, a pre-fire oxygen leak, or an incubator or warmer.

The most probable point and mechanism of ignition was identified as abnormal localised electrical heating in the AC Unit No 2 supply cable, though the precise electrical defect and responsible duty holder were said to remain to be individualised.