Romania Hospital Fire: Heroic Doctor suffers heavy burns saving COVID patients from blaze

A doctor was left with about 40% of his body covered with second and third-degree burns in a fire at a Romanian hospital which killed 10 people. The doctor named Catalin Denciu was hailed as a hero after local media reported that despite the blazing Romania hospital fire, he attempted to help the COVID-19 infected patients to safety. On Sunday, Dr Catalin Denciu was transferred to the Queen Astrid Military Hospital in Belgium for specialised treatment for the burns as per the local media reports. 

The manager of the Romanian hospital, Lucian Micu, informed that the doctor tried hard to save the patients from the blaze and remained in a critical condition. Micu further informed that another doctor along with two nurses also suffered burns and are currently being treated. As per local media reports, Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban lauded the doctor for his courage as well as the 'spirit of sacrifice'. He went on to express gratitude towards the doctor for trying to reach out and save the patients while calling him a 'heroic doctor'. Late on Saturday, November 14 (local time), a Romania hospital treating COVID-19 patients caught fire which left several patients dead and several injured. 

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Romania Hospital Fire

The Intensive Care Unit of a public hospital in the city of Piatra Neamt in Romania, which was designated for COVID-19 patients, caught fire which led to the death of 10 people and left about 10 injured of which 7 remain critical. According to a report by The Guardian, of the 10 people who died, seven were men and three were women and all of them were between the age of 67 to 86 years old. 

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The spokesperson of the Local Emergency Situations Inspectorate, Irina Popa informed that most of the people who were killed or injured in the fire were the patients as the fire spread through the COVID-19 ICU. Speaking to Romanian media, Health Minister Nelu Tataru claimed that the Romania hospital fire was 'most likely triggered by a short circuit'. A criminal investigation was launched by the Romanian authorities to probe the cause of the blaze. The prosecutor leading the probe is the same one who led the probe in the deadly 2015 fire at an underground nightclub in Romania's Bucharest which led to the death of 64 people. 

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Earlier the local media had reported 'poor management' Romania's Piatra Neamt Regional Emergency Hospital which has eight government-appointed managers supervising the medical facility in the last one year. The current manager of the hospital, Lucian Micu was recently appointed about 3 weeks ago after the previous manager resigned over a dispute with reads to the poor treatment of patients. The resignation came after media reported that several patients including COVID-19 suspected patients were forced to wait outside in the cold before they were permitted to see a doctor. The Guardian report states that the government said that from Monday onwards, the public health inspectors along with the Emergency situation agency would check the operational condition of the medical equipments in all ICUs. 

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(With inputs from agencies)