Fire at Dr. Soetomo Hospital: 44 Patients Evacuated

A fire broke out at Dr. Soetomo Hospital, leading to the immediate evacuation of 44 patients from the Integrated Heart Center building in Surabaya on Friday morning. However, one patient died despite rescue efforts.

The Head of the Legal, Public Relations, and Marketing Department of Dr. Soetomo Hospital, Martha Kurnia K, stated that the primary focus in handling this incident was the safety of patients, their families, visitors, and hospital staff.

“To date, 44 patients have been successfully evacuated quickly and safely to other prepared service areas,” Martha said in an official statement on Friday.

Martha mentioned that the 44 patients were evacuated to the Intensive Observation Room (ROI), High Care Unit (HCU) Graha Amerta, Buffer Room of the Emergency Department, and the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Integrated Central Surgery Building (GBPT).

Upon detection of the incident, Dr. Soetomo Hospital immediately activated emergency response procedures and coordinated quickly with internal teams, the Fire and Rescue Service (DPKP), and the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD).

“In accordance with standards, within the first 30 minutes, an Incident Commander was activated with four coordinators: a fire coordinator, a patient evacuation coordinator, a medical equipment security coordinator, and a document security coordinator,” she said.

The entire evacuation process was carried out in a measured manner according to the clinical condition of each patient and under the supervision of medical personnel. The care, treatment, and therapy programs for patients who were relocated continued as planned with the same team of doctors and nurses.

However, during the evacuation process, two patients in the ICCU received special attention because they were in critical condition and were on ventilators. Both patients were successfully evacuated to the Resuscitation Room (RES) of the Emergency Department.

One patient survived, but the other was declared dead.

“The condition of one patient was successfully stabilized. Meanwhile, the other patient, who was in critical condition, was declared dead during the stabilization process in the RES,” she said.

“The patient was a referral patient who underwent heart surgery, and after the surgery, his condition was still critical, using a ventilator, and undergoing hemodialysis,” she added.

Regarding the handling of the fire, Martha claimed that Dr. Soetomo Hospital staff had extinguished the fire using the building’s internal protection system while contacting firefighters. According to her, the rapid response of all parties successfully localized the fire so that it did not spread to other areas or floors of the hospital.

“Currently, the situation at the scene is safe and under control. An investigation into the source of the fire is underway by the authorities. All patients in the affected area have been evacuated to various ICU rooms and other treatment rooms according to their respective care needs,” she said.

Currently, hospital services continue with operational adjustments in some affected areas. The management of Dr. Soetomo Hospital is also conducting a thorough evaluation to ensure the safety of facilities and optimize the hospital’s safety system.

“Dr. Soetomo Hospital is committed to continuing to provide safe, professional services and prioritizing patient safety in every situation,” she explained.

The Director of Dr. Soetomo Hospital, Prof. Dr. Cita Rosita Sigit Prakoeswa, emphasized that the patient’s death in the incident was purely due to the disease he suffered, not due to the impact of the fire or smoke exposure.

Cita said that the patient was indeed in critical medical condition before the fire occurred. During the incident, the patient was receiving assistance through medical devices because he was experiencing failure of several major organs.

“He died because of the disease. Because, as our colleagues explained, his condition was already being supported by three organs, namely the lungs, heart, and kidneys. And hemodialysis was underway, and we still carried out the evacuation, and of course, it was not because of the smoke because everything was supported by machines,” said Cita.