Bhandara Hospital SNCU Fire: Ten Newborns Killed, Seven Rescued

Ten newborn babies died in the night shift at a district hospital. Seven others, in a separate unit, were carried out alive. The difference between the two rooms is the most important part of this story.

What happened

At about 1.30 am on 9 January 2021, a fire broke out in the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) on the first floor of the District General Hospital in Bhandara, Maharashtra. The unit had two sections: an out-born unit, for babies born elsewhere and brought in, and an in-born unit, for babies born at the hospital.

The fire stayed in the out-born unit. All ten babies admitted there died; eight were girls and two were boys. The seven babies in the separate in-born unit were rescued.

Response

According to the state’s account to Parliament, staff first tried to get into the out-born unit, but thick smoke and intense heat made it impossible in the early stage of the fire. The seven babies in the in-born unit were taken out straight away. Windows were broken open to let the smoke out.

Rescuers could enter the out-born unit only after the fire brigade arrived and put a ladder up to a first-floor balcony on the north side. Firemen and hospital staff put out the fire with dry chemical powder extinguishers and buckets of water, and the babies from the out-born unit were then brought out.

Smoke and heat damaged the floor, walls and ceiling and destroyed radiant warmers, a phototherapy unit, wiring, switchboards and split AC units, along with foam mattresses with plastic covers, plastic boxes and records. A small quantity of sanitiser was also kept on the cradles.

What is known about the cause

Maharashtra’s Public Health Department set up an enquiry committee, which submitted its report on 20 January 2021. After ruling out a long list of other causes, the committee concluded that the probable cause was a defective electric circuit inside the electronic control panel of a radiant warmer kept near cradle number 8. It said this finding was open to change if reliable new evidence came forward, and the forensic laboratory report was still awaited when the Union Health Ministry gave these details to the Rajya Sabha on 2 February 2021.

The state government terminated two staff nurses for lapses in duty, suspended the in-charge staff, the paediatrician and the civil surgeon, and transferred the additional civil surgeon. Disciplinary action is not a court finding.

What remains unknown

• The result of the forensic laboratory report. We could not find it.
• Whether the warmer had a known fault history or maintenance record.
• How long the fire burned before it was noticed.

Lessons

Babies cannot escape on their own. A newborn unit’s safety depends on equipment tested before it fails, alarms that alert staff at once, and compartments that buy time. At Bhandara, the separate in-born unit is why seven babies lived.

• Get warmers, control panels and other neonatal equipment electrically tested and heat-scanned on a schedule.
• Fit smoke detection suited to the SNCU that alerts a staffed point at once.
• Keep units divided into separate compartments.
• Have enough trained staff, and evacuation cots or carriers, for every baby on every shift.
• Run night drills that include moving babies who are on oxygen and monitors.
• Keep fault and maintenance records that auditors can check.

If you see smoke or smell burning in a newborn unit, tell the nurse and raise the alarm at once. Move babies away from the fire into the next compartment and close the door behind you. Trained staff should cut power and oxygen to the fire area only if it is safe. At the safe point, count every baby and tell firefighters if any are missing. In an emergency, call 112, or 108 for an ambulance.

If your baby is in an SNCU or NICU, ask the staff today where the nearest exit is and how babies are moved out in a fire. Tell the nurse straight away about any warm, sparking or burning-smelling plug or panel.

More on Bhandara: see our fire and emergency safety guide for emergency numbers, the fire stations and the local risks to know.

Reporting limits

The figures of ten deaths and seven rescued, the timings, the rescue sequence and the probable cause are from the state government’s account in the Rajya Sabha answer of 2 February 2021. The cause is the committee’s probable finding; the forensic report was still awaited at that time and its result was not found. Disciplinary action is not a court finding. News photographs and video stills are linked, not copied.

Latest update (16 October 2026)

About 40 days after the fire, Bhandara police registered a case against the two contract staff nurses who had been terminated, Smita Ambilduke and Shubhangi Sathavane. Deccan Herald reported the charge as IPC Section 304(2), while The Hitavada reported Section 304 Part II read with Section 34, after an inquiry by the Sakoli SDPO. The Hitavada also said a Divisional Commissioner’s report held the nurses responsible for not being present in the SNCU.

We could not find any later report of a chargesheet, trial outcome or final forensic report. We will update this page if one is published.