Rumours of fire spark panic at Brahmanbaria hospital

Rumours of a fire at the Brahmanbaria General Hospital’s oxygen plant sparked panic, causing patients and their relatives to rush out of the institution.

The incident occurred around midnight on Saturday, according to Nazmul Alam, senior station officer for the Brahmanbaria Fire Service.

He said, “We rushed to the hospital when the fire was reported, but once we got here, we found that there was no fire. The panic was mainly caused by a sound from the safety release at the oxygen plant.”

Those at the hospital say that over 500 patients are typically admitted to the 250-bed hospital every day. A sudden loud sound from the oxygen plant surprised everyone around midnight.

This sparked a rumour about a fire at the plant, with patients and their relatives rushing to flee. Some wards were nearly cleared out.

They say some people suffered minor injuries in the rush. Once the lack of a fire was confirmed, patients returned to the wards.

Hospital Supervisor Ratan Kumar Dhali said the sound at the oxygen plant was caused by the excess oxygen safety release. As part of regular safety precautions at the hospital, the excess oxygen is released several times a month, he said.