Just a week after the devastating fire at the PGI's Nehru Hospital, the institute was once again struck by a fire emergency, this time at the Advanced Eye Centre. The fire occurred at 9:25 a.m. on Monday. No injuries have been reported.

Sources said that a short circuit in the UPS room, containing a significant battery count of over 100 units, had caused a powerful blast that ignited electric cables and ruptured an oxygen pipeline, leading to the inferno.

According to PGI officials, due to an early morning storm & thunder, the UT grid underwent a power fluctuation around that time which caused the power backup system of the Advance Eye Centre to trip a few times. Shortly afterward, the security guard who was posted in the electrical installation area detected some smoke in the UPS (uninterrupted power supply) room of the AEC basement and immediately informed the fire department. Quick action was taken, and the fire was brought under control within five minutes of the call.

To ensure the safety and security of the patients and medical staff, the OPD services were suspended for two hours due to smoke in the building. However, after assessing the situation, the OPD services were restored and no injuries or damage to property were reported.

“We appreciate the timely response of the security guard and the fire department of PGI as well as the administration in responding to the situation immediately. The Advanced Eye Center deeply apologizes to its patients for the inconvenience caused by the temporary suspension of the OPD and other services", said Dr SS Pandav, HOD, Advance Eye Centre.

On October 9, more than 400 patients were evacuated to safety late in the night after a major fire broke out in PGI's Nehru Hospital building. Following the incident, a 14-member committee was constituted by the PGI under the chairmanship of Dean (Academic) Prof Naresh Panda to ascertain the exact cause of the fire and work out an action plan to avoid such incidents.