Ambulance catches fire at Coimbatore govt hospital

COIMBATORE: An 108

ambulance

vehicle that was parked at the

Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital

(

CMCH

) caught

fire

at 11.10am on Saturday.


A source in the hospital said that the fire broke out due to a short circuit inside the vehicle.

Stating that no casualties were reported, the source said that a leak in the oxygen cylinder in the ambulance aggravated the fire.

An official at CMCH said that the fire broke out when the staff were changing the patient's oxygen cylinder. The ambulance staff immediately pulled out the patient, he added.

"The fire and rescue service vehicle parked outside swung into action and doused the fire in 15 minutes," the official added.

Hospital dean Dr A Nirmala, collector S Nagarajan and fire and rescue services deputy commissioner were at the spot following the incident.

An 108 ambulance service official said that they were investigating the exact cause of the fire. "The vehicle’s ignition was on when the fire broke out and the oxygen leak aggravated it,” he said.