Infant dead, two injured in fire at NICU in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara
An infant died and two others were injured following a fire in the neonatal ICU of a government hospital in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh. The hospital administration has denied negligence, attributing the incident to a technical malfunction in a radiant warmer.
Why it matters
The incident highlights critical safety and infrastructure concerns in public healthcare facilities.
An infant was killed and two other newborns suffered burn injuries after a fire broke out in the neonatal ICU (NICU) at the government district hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara, officials said on Saturday (August 22, 2026).
According to officials, the incident took place around 1.50 a.m. after a radiant warmer machine in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit caught fire due to sparks in its filament coil, causing injuries to three children. In an NICU, newborns who are in poor health at birth would be placed on the beds attached to the machine, which keeps them warm.
The district administration has ordered an investigation into the incident and the civil surgeon will probe the cause behind the fire.
Hospital in-charge and civil surgeon Kanchan Dubey said that after an initial examination, the three infants were referred to the government medical college in Jabalpur.
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