Elderly woman dies after fire at hospital in Rio.
In a terminal state, a woman was hospitalized in the Pulmonology department of the Pedro Ernesto University Hospital and died this morning after a fire struck the health unit; the storeroom was the only area destroyed by the fire; more than 60 people had to be relocated.
Agency Brazil - An elderly woman who was hospitalized in the Pneumology sector of the Pedro Ernesto Hospital, linked to the State University of Rio de Janeiro (Uerj), died this morning (4) during the fire that hit the health unit, located in the north of the city. The information was confirmed by the governor of Rio de Janeiro, Sérgio Cabral.
According to information from the hospital's management, the victim had pulmonary fibrosis and was in a terminal state; therefore, it is not yet possible to know if smoke inhalation contributed to the death. No one was directly injured by the flames.
The storeroom was the only area destroyed by the fire. According to the State Health Department, there is no risk of supply shortages for the hospital. The general commander of the Fire Department, Colonel Sérgio Simões, reported that it is not yet possible to know the cause of the fire, but assured that the hospital's structure was not affected.
Due to the smoke, more than 60 people had to be moved from the Neurology, Nephrology, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, Plastic Surgery, and Thoracic Surgery wards to other sectors within the hospital. Children in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and patients hospitalized in the Hematology sector needed to be transferred to other healthcare units.