RSCM catches fire, patients evacuated
Sita W. Dewi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 02/06/2012 11:42 AM
(kompas.com)A fire gutted the 8th floor of the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital’s Central Medical Unit on Monday morning, forcing hospital management to evacuate patients to other parts of the medical facility.
No casualties have been reported yet.
“Everything has been taken care of,” hospital spokesman Nata Sudrajat told The Jakarta Post on Monday without elaborating further.
Central Jakarta Fire Department chief Achmad Lamping said that the floor was essentially a closed room, causing the smoke to spread quickly.
“The [firefighters] officers opened all windows to reduce the smoke,” Achmad said as quoted by kompas.com.
The firefighters vacated the 8th and 9th floor following the accident.
The fire started at 7:00 a.m., burning several beds and dialysis machines. It took 14 fire trucks and 30 minutes to extinguish the fire.
The 8th floor housed the hospital’s treatment center for patients with kidney failure, hypertension and patients who needed haemodialysis.
