Clinic destroyed at Sismanogleio Hospital after fire in patient room – “Someone set a mattress on fire,” says Georgiadis
The patient who had been hospitalized in the bed had already left the hospital, and police found him at his home, says the Health Minister, who visited the hospital. "It remains to be determined whether this was a criminal act"
Kostas Stamou
Δείτε περισσότερα άρθρα μας στα αποτελέσματα αναζήτησης
Scenes of panic unfolded in the early hours of the morning on the first floor of the Sismanogleio General Hospital of Attica after a fire broke out in a room of the First Internal Medicine Clinic, resulting in the destruction of an entire hospital ward, according to Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis.
The minister, who visited the hospital, stated that “all the patients caught in the midst of the fire were safely evacuated.” He also congratulated the hospital staff and administration for their handling of the incident, saying it “could have turned into a tragedy.”
Describing what happened, Mr. Georgiadis said:
“At 4:55 a.m., a bed in one of the rooms caught fire. The nurse on duty realized immediately and saw the bed in flames. There was no oxygen equipment there; someone set the mattress on fire. The patient who had been occupying that bed had already left the hospital. Police found him at his home. According to what I’ve been told by the police, he said he had a dream that the mattress caught fire. The staff evacuated all the patients in an orderly manner and broke the windows to let the smoke escape.”
He added:
“An entire ward has been destroyed due to what may have been an unfortunate criminal act, though that remains to be established by the investigation. Fortunately, the fire suppression systems worked immediately. The fire had spread significantly and could have burned down half the hospital. This is an unprecedented incident in which human lives were put at risk.”
The Health Minister also clarified that:
“A woman who suffered cardiac arrest and died was not connected to the fire. She had not inhaled smoke and was the first patient to be transferred.”
“The Entire Floor Filled with Smoke”
A patient who was staying in a room next to where the fire started described the terrifying moments that followed to protothema.gr.
According to the patient, everyone heard a nurse shouting, “Fire!” Patients then grabbed their IV drips and ran into the hallway, which had already filled with thick smoke.
“Around 5:00 in the morning, the fire started. We heard a nurse shouting, ‘Fire!’ It happened in the First Internal Medicine ward, Room 10. Within seconds, the entire floor was filled with heavy smoke. I ran out with my IV in my hand. An elderly woman, the patient next to me, and I managed to get outside and down to the courtyard. There were many disabled, elderly, and helpless patients who couldn’t move on their own, but there was no one there to help them. We got out by ourselves. No one helped us except the nurse who was shouting ‘Fire!’ Some people hadn’t even woken up yet because it was five in the morning.”
The patient concluded:
“Fortunately, we knew the way out, so we managed to find our way outside even though the hallway was full of smoke.”
According to the Fire Service, the blaze broke out at approximately 5:00 a.m. in a room on the first floor of the First Internal Medicine Clinic. As a precaution, patients from the first floor as well as the floors above were evacuated.
The fire has since been brought under control. A total of 28 firefighters, 7 fire engines, and 2 specialized vehicles—including an aerial platform truck and a ladder truck—were dispatched to extinguish the blaze.
It is also noted that the Attica Arson Crime Investigation Unit has arrived at the hospital to investigate the cause of the fire.
