Fire hits children’s hospital

MANILA, Philippines — At least 190 patients of the National Children’s Hospital in Quezon City were evacuated after a fire broke out yesterday morning.

The blaze started on the seventh floor of Building 3, where the hospital’s neurology and respiratory wards are located, at past 10 a.m., said city fire marshal Senior Superintendent Jaime Ramirez.

The fire reached third alarm before it was put out by firefighters at around 10:53 a.m., Ramirez said in a text message.

Ramirez said nobody was injured in the fire. An investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the blaze which destroyed around P200 million worth of property.

Dr. Moriel Creencia, the hospital’s chief medical professional staff, said they evacuated at least 190 patients as the fire raged.

“No patients suffered injuries as we were able to bring them out,” she told reporters in an interview.

Creencia said they were in the middle of an activity on the building’s sixth floor when the fire broke out. Hospital staffers evacuated patients and brought them to a nearby fastfood restaurant.

The patients were brought back to rooms that were unaffected by firefighting operations after the blaze was put out.