JEDDAH: Civil Defense put into effect the emergency evacuation plan of a Jeddah hospital when a fire tore through its nearby medical waste warehouse early Sunday morning, authorities said. Six firefighting teams rushed to the Maternity and Children's Hospital and battled the fire for about 90 minutes during which the general power was cut from the hospital as a precautionary measure, said Col. Abdullah Al-Jiddawi. Emergency generators were started to keep vital departments in the hospital running. The teams quickly contained the fire from within the premises of the warehouse to keep the flames away, he said. The fire started in the upper floor of the warehouse and soon the flames and smoke swept to the first floor, he added. “Civil Defense teams will not leave the location until a complete assessment of the damage has been made as this is a very sensitive location,” Col. Al-Jiddawi said, adding that he expected the investigation to be completed within 48 hours. A health official said that the warehouse had no laboratory materials or oxygen cylinders and “it is only used to store bed sheets, some small medical appliances, and stationary”. “The warehouse is equipped with fire detectors, but it is not fire-proof nor is it equipped with a fire sprinkler system,” said Sami Ba-Dawood, director of the Jeddah Health Department. Ba-Dawood, however, declined to give an estimate of the damaged inventory as he did not know the exact value of the medical items in the warehouse. The situation soon returned to normal at the hospital, he said. The staff closed all the windows facing the warehouse when the fire broke out to prevent smoke from entering into the hospital, he added. Witnesses said they saw some patients running for their safety outside the hospital. “As the man in charge, I assure you that all patients are safe,” Ba-Dawood said. The Health Department and Civil Defense have joined forces to investigate the incident and prevent any similar future occurrences in any Jeddah hospital, he said. According to Civil Defense, the warehouse contained medical liquids, regular medicine bottles, furniture pieces, and flammable materials like sponges and plastics. “It is a dangerous place for a fire to start because of all the medicine supplies,” said Col. Abdullah Habab, operations director at the Jeddah Civil Defense Department.
