Jhansi Fire: Nurse's Heroic Efforts Helped Save Over Dozen Babies

Jhansi: Nurse Megha James was on duty when fire broke out at Jhansi hospital and she threw herself helong into rescue efforts, playing a hero's role by saving several babies. Even when her salwar got burned, she refused to give up and was able to evacuate 14-15 babies with ors' help.

"I h gone to take a syringe to give an injection to a child. When I came back, I saw that (oxygen) concentrator h caught fire. I called ward boy, who came with fire extinguisher and tried to put it out. But by n, fire h spre," James said. Ten babies perished in a fire that broke out at Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi Friday night. 

Faced with an enormous blaze, James's mind worked with a frenetic speed, to extent she cared little about burning herself. "My chappal caught fire and I burned my foot. n my salwar caught fire. I removed my salwar and discarded it. At that time, my mind was virtually not working," she told PTI Videos.

James just wore anor salwar and went back to rescue operation. "re was a lot of smoke, and once lights went out, we could not see anything. entire staff brought out at least 14-15 children. re were 11 beds in ward with 23-24 babies," she said. H lights not gone out y could have saved more children, James said. "It all happened very suddenly. None of us h expected it." Assistant Nursing Superintendent Nalini Sood praised James's valour and recounted bits from how rescue operation was carried out.

" hospital staff broke glasses of NICU ward to evacuate babies. It was n Nurse Megha's salwar caught fire. Inste of caring for her safety, she stayed re to rescue babies and handed m over to people outside," she said.

Sood said James is currently undergoing treatment at same medical college. She said she did not know extent of her burns. " rescued babies were shifted to a ward very close to NICU ward… When I recall scene, I feel like crying," she said.

Dr Anshul Jain, he of anaessiology department at medical college, explained standard rescue operation and claimed hospital followed protocol to T. "In triage process during an ICU evacuation, policy is to evacuate less-affected patients first. rationale behind this approach is that patients requiring minimal support can be relocated quickly, enabling a larger number of evacuations to be completed in a shorter time.

"In contrast, patients on ventilators or requiring high oxygen support demand more time and resources for evacuation," he said. "This principle was successfully implemented in Jhansi, playing a significant role in saving many lives," Jain said. A newborn rescued from fire died due to illness on Sunday, Jhansi District Magistrate Avinash Kumar said.