Adevastating fire broke out at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi on Friday night, claiming the lives of 11 infants. Amid the chaos, Nurse Megha James emerged as a hero, risking her life to save several babies from the blaze.
James, who was on duty at the time, quickly jumped into action. Despite sustaining burns to her foot and clothing, she continued the rescue operation, helping evacuate 14â15 babies with assistance from the hospital staff.
"I had gone to take a syringe to give an injection to a child. When I came back, I saw that the (oxygen) concentrator had caught fire. I called the ward boy, who came with the fire extinguisher and tried to put it out. But by then, the fire had spread," James said as quoted by news agency PTI.
She said the rescue efforts were hampered by thick smoke and a power outage, making it difficult to see inside the NICU. She said that they could have saved more children if there was no power outage.
"My chappal caught fire and I burned my foot. Then my salwar caught fire. I removed my salwar and discarded it. At that time, my mind was virtually not working," the nurse said.
James wore another salwar and went back to the rescue operation.
Assistant Nursing Superintendent Nalini Sood praised James's bravery. "She didn't care about her own safety and continued rescuing babies. She handed them over to people outside before seeking help for herself," Sood told PTI.
The hospital staff broke the glass windows of the NICU to evacuate the infants. The surviving babies were shifted to nearby wards, but one newborn succumbed to illness on Sunday, according to District Magistrate Avinash Kumar.
Dr Anshul Jain, head of the hospital's anesthesiology department, explained the evacuation protocol. "The policy is to evacuate less-affected patients first to save as many lives as possible. This principle was successfully implemented during the fire."
James is currently undergoing treatment at the medical college for her injuries.
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