A large fire within the Trauma Care Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack killed ten people and sparked severe claims from patient relatives about delays in rescue operations and potential flaws in fire protection equipment.
At least 23 patients were in the ICU when the incident happened in the early hours of Monday. Out of the 23 patients, 10 reportedly died while being transferred to different units following the fire.
Allegations of Delay
According to accounts, the hospital's sprinkler system did not activate immediately after the fire started, which allegedly slowed evacuation efforts. The Fire Services Department officers eventually quenched the flames manually using water.Relatives and attendants of patients claimed that dense smoke within the ICU rendered visibility extremely poor, further slowing rescue efforts. Some attendants stated they had to run away with their patients, thereby saving lives.
The fire is thought to have been sparked by an electrical short circuit.
Relatives Search for Missing Patients
Amit Dalei, a relative of an ICU patient, stated that his father had been admitted to bed nine but his whereabouts were unclear following the fire."My father was admitted to bed no. 9, but after the fire broke out at night, they moved him somewhere, and we don't know where he is. Nobody knows where he is. I checked many departments' ICUs, but he was not present. "I request that the hospital administration and the government locate him for us," he stated.
Another relative, Mohammad Sakura, claimed he awoke to hear people shouting about the fire.
"I was sleeping on the floor near the door when people began screaming about the fire. I don't know where they put my son. I looked for him in other departments but couldn't find him, and the hospital staff couldn't tell me where he was," he stated.

Another cousin of a patient, Ramesh Chandra Parida, stated that the fire looked to have started from an air-conditioning unit.
"We came here for an accident case; a fire broke out in one of the air conditioning units at 3 a.m. The hospital authorities did nothing. The fire department members quenched the flames. Later, the dead and patients were moved, and our relative was sent to the New Medicine ward, where we identified the body," he explained.
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Majhi visited the hospital following the event and examined the situation in front of key officials. He later announced a judicial inquiry into the disaster and stated that action will be taken once the investigation report was filed.

The Chief Minister also offered an ex-gratia payment of Rs 25 lakh to each deceased patient's family.
Identities of the deceased
The victims have been named as Ramesh Chandra Parida, Dasharu Munda, MD Nayum, Gauranga Chandra Barik, S.K. Abddul Satar, Madhusudan Dalai, Krushnachandra Biswal, Rabindra Das, Cheru Parida, and Menaka Raut.