Inquiry Details Institutional Failures Behind Pakistan Maternity Ward Fire

An official inquiry into a fire that killed 14 infants at a maternity ward in Islamabad last month has found that systemic and institutional failure at the hospital contributed directly to the tragedy.

The fire broke out before dawn on August 26 on the third floor of the Mother and Child Health Ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, the capital’s leading public hospital. According to the 42-page report, dated September 7 and reviewed by AFP, the facility had no working smoke detectors or sprinklers, and investigators identified a faulty air conditioning unit as the probable cause, with the strongest technical evidence pointing to the power supply cable of the unit as the most likely point of ignition.

Witnesses described chaotic scenes to AFP on the day of the fire, recalling thick smoke, broken glass and a delayed emergency response. One mother who lost her infant said a door to the neonatal intensive care unit had been locked, which hampered rescue efforts.

The report placed the bulk of the responsibility on the hospital’s leadership, stating that the institution and its senior management failed to translate known risks, earlier warnings and assigned duties into an effective safety system. Investigators also found that no nursery-specific evacuation procedures were in place at the time of the fire, and that no functioning smoke detection, alarm or sprinkler system was serving the affected area. Even so, the report pushed back on broader claims that emergency staff had abandoned the newborns, rejecting that characterization despite multiple allegations that the response had been slow.

Fires in large buildings remain common in Pakistan, often linked to weak safety regulations and building codes, along with inconsistent enforcement and inadequate emergency planning. In the aftermath of the fire, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for an investigation and said the strictest possible action should be taken against anyone found responsible.

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