Palanpur Mavjat Hospital Fire, Gujarat: Kitchen Fire Reaches the Roof, No Casualties Reported; How Many Patients Were Moved, the Cause and the Fire-Brigade Delay Claim Unresolved

What happened on 7 November 2026

On Saturday evening, 7 November 2026, the day before Diwali, a fire broke out at Mavjat Multispeciality Hospital in Palanpur, the district town of Banaskantha in north Gujarat. ETV Bharat (Gujarati) and Akila News say it began in the hospital kitchen and spread from the second floor up to the rooftop, with smoke and flames causing panic among patients, relatives and staff. A TV9 Gujarati breaking-news bulletin on the fire carries an on-screen clock of 7.39 pm, so it was under way by then. We found no report that gives the exact start time.

Reports differ on how many patients were moved. ETV Bharat and Divya Bhaskar say staff and patients’ relatives moved the patients out of the ward, with serious patients brought out with their oxygen cylinders (ETV Bharat), and TV9 Gujarati says patients from the ICU and the emergency ward were moved to the open compound. The Times of India quotes a hospital doctor as saying there was no need to shift any patient from the ICU or the general ward, and that only some patients were brought out briefly because of smoke and then taken back to their wards. ETV Bharat, TV9 Gujarati and the Times of India all say patients were back in the wards once the fire was under control. The Palanpur municipality fire brigade put the fire out. No injury or death was reported in the six reports we opened. The hospital doctor quoted by the Times of India puts the number of patients under treatment at around 30, and Gujarat First says it was lower than usual because of Diwali. None of the six reports quotes a fire officer.

What the reports say

• Where it began: in the kitchen (ETV Bharat, Akila News). Gujarat First places the kitchen in the basement and says the fire started while food was being tempered, quoting the hospital operator that cooking was under way and no patient was affected.
• Fire engines: Gujarat First says the municipal team reached the spot promptly with three fire engines, and ETV Bharat and Akila News also say the crews came quickly. TV9 Gujarati, however, carries an allegation that three municipal fire fighters arrived about half an hour late despite being alerted. We found no independent confirmation of the delay.
• One account from the spot: ETV Bharat quotes a driver who had brought a patient in an ambulance from Rajasthan. He says he noticed the smoke first and told the gatekeeper, who replied that help was coming from behind, and that the fire reached the rooftop within seconds. This is one person’s account and nobody else confirms the timing.
• Visits and police: Palanpur MLA Aniket Thakar visited the hospital to take stock (Akila News), and Palanpur East police reached the scene to keep order (TV9 Gujarati).
• Checks promised: Akila News calls it the second major fire in Palanpur in two days, after a blaze in the GIDC area, and says the authorities plan stricter checks of fire-safety equipment in hospitals and commercial complexes. We found no notice or inspection result.

Where reports differ and what we do not know

• How many patients were moved: staff and relatives moved the patients out of the ward, serious ones with oxygen (ETV Bharat, Divya Bhaskar), including ICU and emergency-ward patients into the compound (TV9 Gujarati); or no ICU or general-ward patient needed shifting and only some were brought out briefly because of smoke (a hospital doctor, quoted by the Times of India). Gujarat First says the patients were moved to a safe place, and quotes the hospital operator only as saying no patient faced any difficulty. We cannot settle this from the reports.
• Cause: food being tempered in the kitchen, which hospital management itself calls an estimate (Gujarat First); a short circuit or some other cause on a preliminary view (Akila News); or a gas cylinder blast in the basement (TV9 Gujarati). No official finding exists.
• Where it started and how far it went: a kitchen in the basement (Gujarat First, TV9 Gujarati) or a kitchen fire that spread from the second floor to the roof (ETV Bharat, Akila News). We have not been able to reconcile these. The Times of India quotes the hospital doctor as saying the flames went up through a duct to the fourth floor.
• Name: the hospital is spelt Mavjat, Mavajat, Majavat and Mavjad across outlets.
• Not found: the ICU bed count, whether the hospital’s fire clearance (NOC) was current, any statement from a fire officer or the municipality (none of the six reports quotes one), the extent of damage, any notice or inquiry, and any report after the night of 7 November.

Why this case matters

A hospital cannot simply send everyone home when a fire starts. Some patients are on oxygen or a drip, some cannot walk, and a kitchen in the basement can push smoke up every staircase within minutes. This time nobody was reported hurt. Several reports credit the staff and relatives with moving patients out, while the hospital’s own doctor says only some patients were brought out briefly because of smoke, so we cannot say how much clearing was needed. The questions that remain are the ones that decide the next fire: where the cooking gas was kept, why the fire reached the roof, and how long the engines took.

We have covered other hospital fires where nobody was hurt, such as the Surat New Civil Hospital fire and the Godhra Civil Hospital fire. They are separate incidents and nothing links them to this one. More on Palanpur: see our Palanpur emergency and safety guide for emergency numbers and the local risks to know. Our guides on hospital fire safety for patients’ families and staff and the causes of hospital fires in India explain the usual weak points.

What families, staff and hospital managers can do

• When you admit a relative: note the nearest staircase and exit, and ask the nurse what the plan is if the ward has to be cleared, especially if the patient is on oxygen.
• If you smell smoke: tell the staff at once, do not wait to be sure, and call 101 or 112 yourself. Do not use the lift.
• Moving a patient: move away from the fire first, behind a closed door or to a safer wing, and go down only when needed. Use a bed, trolley or wheelchair rather than carrying a patient alone, and take the oxygen along.
• Managers: keep kitchens and LPG cylinders away from patient floors, keep cylinders outside in a ventilated enclosure, keep corridors and exits clear, test alarms and extinguishers on a schedule, and run an evacuation drill with night staff. See how to run an effective fire drill and how to make an evacuation plan that works.
• Numbers: Emergency numbers in India and how to call 112, 101 or 108 show what to say to the control room.