BURSA: Eight patients in an intensive
care ward have died after an overnight fire
at a hospital in north-western Turkey.
Health Minister Recep Akdag said five men and
three women had died during the blaze at the
Sevket Yilmaz hospital in Bursa or after they
were evacuated.
The fire is thought to have been caused by
an electrical fault in the basement.
Bursa governor Sahabettin Harputlu said the
patients might have died from smoke inhalation
or because the power supply of their life-support
machines was cut.
Investigators are trying to establish the exact cause
of the fire, which sent thick smoke into the ventilation
system.
The children's ward was also badly affected and more
than a dozen children were among the more than 30
people receiving treatment for smoke inhalation at
nearby hospitals on Tuesday.
Mr Akdag praised the hospital's staff and firefighters
for risking their lives to evacuate patients during
the blaze.
"We might have faced a greater disaster if the
response was delayed and the fire spread to the whole
hospital," he added.
Updated;
Fire in Bursa State Hospital
Engineers Find Many Faults at Hospital after Fire
According to a preliminary examination by engineers,
the Bursa hospital where a fire broke out was not
prepared for an emergency.
Members of the Turkish Union of Chambers of Architects
and Engineers (TMMOB) have identified multiple faults
at the Bursa State Hospital where a fire broke out
yesterday (26 May).
Eight patients from the intensive care unit died,
either because the electricity cut caused their life-support
systems to shut down, or because of smoke inhalation.
The delegation read a report in front of the hospital
at 1 pm today. The experts said that the part of the
hospital where the fire broke out had been added at
a later stage, but that electrical and mechanical
changes had not been made. In addition, no precautionary
measures against a possible fire had been taken.
Erdal Aktug, secretary of Bursa's TMMOB coordination
board, said that the architecture, static, electricity,
fire and mechanical installations had not been inspected
by the relevant professional chambers.
Regulations ignored, no precautions
The delegation's initial findings have been:
* The batteries for the fire sensor system were
not charged
* The cables used for the electrical system were not
fire-resistant. There was no fire sensor system in
the installation shaft or in the suspended ceiling.
* The ventilation system in the intensive care and
neo-natal units lacked necessary equipment.
* The cable shaft contained both electrical cables
and supply tubes for flammable gas like oxygen.
* There was no fire insulation between the cable shaft
and the floors.
* There were no fire compartments or inhibitors which
could have stopped the spread of fire and smoke.
* Access to the cable shaft was covered by inflammable
covers.
* The access to the shaft was from the intensive care
unit, which was wrong.
* The electrical systems for the operating theatres
and the intensive care unit did not conform to regulations.
* There were no emergency regulations for the electricity
control rooms.
The TMMOB said that relevant engineers had to be
employed full-time at such complex and technological
buildings to ensure work safety and operating safety.
In addition, the relevant professional associations
had to carry out yearly inspections at such public
and private buildings in order to prevent loss of
life.
One recommendation in the report was that buildings
used by many people be inspected immediately. Aktug
also said that work places should be inspected by
professional chambers when they started out
Updated;
Prosecutor demands 15 years in Bursa hospital fire
caseBURSA Following the deaths of nine individuals
in a fire in the western province of Bursa’s
Sevket Yilmaz State Hospital last year, a prosecutor
has demanded 15 years’ imprisonment for the
hospital’s head physician, a manager, two deputy
managers and an electrical engineer.
The inquiry into the fire, which left nine intensive
care unit patients dead when it broke out in the radiology
department in the basement of the hospital on May.
26, 2009, was completed on Thursday. It is believed
that technical failures at the hospital could have
played a role in the outbreak of the fire. The former
head physician of the hospital, Osman Naci Ç.,
manager Salim Ö., deputy managers Yakup G. and
Mehmet G. and electrical engineer Süleyman K.
were accused of causing the deaths of nine people
through gross negligence and were recommended for
prisons sentences of 15 years.
