Dhaka Hospital Incubator Fire, Chankharpul: A Newborn Placed in the Neonatal Unit of a Private Hospital Is Burnt When the Incubator Catches Fire, Dies Four Days Later at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, the Family Alleges Negligence and Files a Complaint, and the Hospital Could Not Be Reached for Comment

What happened

The Dhaka incubator fire happened on or about 8 November 2026 in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of a private hospital in Chankharpul, Dhaka. A newborn boy placed in an incubator was burnt when it caught fire. He was treated at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery and then at the neonatal ward of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), where he died on the afternoon of Wednesday 11 November, according to The Business Standard, which quotes the DMCH police camp. bdnews24 also reports the death after what it calls an alleged incubator fire.

The account of how the fire started comes from the baby’s father. He told The Business Standard that the baby was placed in the NICU before the hospital had finished the admission formalities, that he heard shouting a short while later and found the incubator in flames, and that no hospital staff were present until the family had put the fire out. He has gone to the police to file a case. The hospital could not be reached for comment, and the cause of the fire has not been stated.

This page names no one and does not name the hospital. It sets out what is reported, where the reports differ and what an incubator fire teaches about equipment checks and staffing in a neonatal unit.

What the reports say

• When: On or about 8 November 2026 for the fire; the baby died on the afternoon of Wednesday 11 November (The Business Standard)
• Where: The neonatal intensive care unit of a private hospital in Chankharpul, Dhaka; the baby died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (The Business Standard)
• The baby: A newborn boy, born at about 4 am at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, who developed breathing difficulty and was advised neonatal intensive care (The Business Standard, from the father)
• Why the private hospital: The DMCH neonatal intensive care unit had no vacant bed, so the father took the baby to the private hospital on the advice of a DMCH doctor (The Business Standard, from the father)
• What happened: According to the father, the baby was put in the unit before the admission formalities were done; a short while later the incubator was in flames and the baby was on fire (The Business Standard)
• Treatment: The baby was taken to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery and then back to the DMCH neonatal ward (The Business Standard)
• Deaths: One: the newborn, who died four days after the fire (The Business Standard; bdnews24)
• Police: The DMCH police camp confirmed the death; the body was kept in the morgue after the family complained; an autopsy was scheduled for the next day (The Business Standard)
• The family’s claim: The father alleges negligence and that no staff were present when the fire broke out; he went to Chawkbazar police station to file a case (The Business Standard)
• The hospital: Attempts to reach the private hospital for comment were unsuccessful (The Business Standard)
• Identities: The reports name the father, the mother, a police officer and the hospital; we name no person and do not name the hospital

Where reports differ and what we do not know

• The date of the fire: The Business Standard says the baby died four days after the fire, which points to about 7 November, but also gives the father’s account that labour began on the night of 7 November and the baby was born at about 4 am, so the fire came after that. We say on or about 8 November.
• Allegation or finding: bdnews24 calls it an alleged incubator fire. Everything about how the fire started rests on the father’s account; no inspection report or hospital statement has been published. We say alleged where the cause is concerned.
• The cause of the fire: No report says what caught fire: a short circuit, a heater or something else. We do not say.
• Who was present: The father says no staff were present; the hospital has given no account. We report his claim as his claim.

What this fire teaches

An incubator is a warm enclosed box with a heater, a fan and mains power, often with a cord and sockets close by and oxygen nearby. If a fault or an overloaded socket starts a fire, a premature or sick baby cannot move and has little time. The reports say the family put out the fire before staff arrived, and that the baby was moved twice before dying at DMCH. These are a father’s account and a police confirmation of the death, not findings about the cause.

We have covered similar fires, among them the Amravati and Islamabad NICU fires, the Jhansi Medical College NICU fire, the Jaipur SMS Hospital trauma ICU fire and the Fatullah madrasa library fire in Bangladesh. Our guide to hospital fire safety for patients’ families and staff sets out what families can ask and check, and our guide to the causes of hospital fires in India lists the common faults.

We do not know what caused the fire or what the investigation will find. We will update this page when a finding or a hospital statement is published.