The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) immediately responded to a recent fire that reached a third alarm at the Central Block of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila.
PRC Chairman and CEO Dick Gordon directed the staff and volunteers to respond quickly and dispatched firetrucks and ambulances to ensure that the fire was put out quickly and that no one was hurt.
“I am deeply concerned about the patients as fire in a hospital is dangerous.”
“I am relieved to know that the patients were evacuated quickly and that the fire was put out at the earliest with the help of our volunteers and staff, and with our assets from Manila, NHQ-Port, Caloocan, and other nearby areas. I am deeply concerned about the patients as fire in a hospital is dangerous,” Gordon said.
The fire, which started at 3:05pm, was contained at 4:30pm. It engulfed PGH’s Medical Supplies Room and Surgery Room.
Nurse Rochelle Ong of PGH estimated the number of patients who were evacuated at 150. The PRC Manila Team assisted patients back to their ward and sent two health staff to lend support.
It was the second fire that razed parts of PGH in four years.
It was the second fire that razed parts of PGH in four years. Gordon went to PGH himself at dawn of May 16, 2021 when fire hit the nursery and operating rooms at the third floor of the hospital. Concerned about the babies and patients at the operating theater, he then sent firetrucks and ambulances; equipped volunteers and staff with self-contained breathing apparatuses; and deployed six units of ram fans – two from PRC NHQ and four from the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Fire Department – which were crucial in clearing and ejecting smoke from confined spaces.
