KUCHING: The State and Rescue Services Department (Bomba) said their initial investigation of the Monday night fire in the compound of Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) indicated that it started from an underground cable after sparks ignited some rotten plywood.
Firefighters faced some difficulties reaching the fire as it was underneath cement slaps each weighing three tonnes, Bomba explained in an SMS yesterday.
They had to use a crane to lift the heavy slaps before they could douse the fire.
“A call was received at 8.05pm and the first fire engine reached the site at 8.15pm. The fire was put out by 11pm and the operation ended 12 minutes after midnight,” Bomba said.
Three fire engines and 35 firefigthers led by state director Nor Hisham Mohammad turned up at the scene.
PKR vice-chairman See Chee How yesterday urged Bomba and the Health Ministry to undertake remedial work to ensure all facilities for health and medical services at SGH were fully restored.
He said he was shocked to read the news on the fire.
He was made to understand that the underground electrical wiring could have been the source of the smoke which was transmitted to all parts of SGH up to the seventh floor via ducts in the pneumatic tube delivery system used to send blood samples to the laboratory.
“I must commend the doctors and nurses at SGH who have done a great job in evacuating patients in the shortest time possible. And I thank the Fire Department for acting swifly,” See said in a press statement.
“However, I urge that the matter be fully investigated and that any fault and damage be determined to ensure no facility for the health and medical services at the SGH is compromised,” he stressed.
The Batu Lintang assemblyman said: “It is equally pressing that the construction of the second general hospital in Petra Jaya be expedited, and the Sarawak International Medical Centre be equipped to cater for specialised health services so the longstanding problem of overcrowding at SGH can be eased.”