Fire Breaks Out at Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital

A fire that broke out in the dental section of Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital shortly after Friday midnight destroyed a dental chair while damaging two more.Sources said the smoke started billowing from the dental section around 1.45 a.m. Fire and rescue services personnel were alerted 10 minutes later after it was ascertained that the fire had broken out in the dental section. Fire and Rescue Services personnel from Palayamkottai Fire Station, led by Fire Officer U. Ramesh, rushed to the hospital to douse the flames within 15 minutes after breaking the locked door of the section."When the Fire and Rescue Services personnel asked for keys at the main entrance of the section, it took more than 15 minutes for the hospital employees to respond. After searching for keys, one of the TVMCH staff returned empty handed and fire fighters broke the lock and entered the room to extinguish the fire," attendant of an in-patient said.After dousing flames, Fire and Rescue Services personnel said power connection to one of the dental chairs had not been switched off and it could have triggered the mishap leading to destruction of the dental chair, the most essential equipment for a dental clinic. The police have registered a case.