Battery pack fire causes alarm at hospital

Thick smoke was seen billowing from the Pusrawi Hospital in Jalan Tun Razak here Friday when 24 batteries stored in a ground floor support room caught fire.

Titiwangsa Fire and Rescue Department operations chief Danian Abdul Razak said they received a distress call from the public at 1.58pm.

He said on arrival at the site, firefighters noticed thick smoke coming from a ground floor room near the hospital's lobby area.

"After an inspection, we found 24 backup batteries to supply electricity to the mortuary had caught fire. We are still investigating the cause of fire," he told reporters.

A hospital staff who only wants to be known as Melati, 21, said she rushed out of the hospital building after hearing the fire alarm at 1.30pm.

"I didn't know what was happening. The alarm was ringing and we were directed to vacate the building immediately.

"The situation grew chaotic and it was only later that I gathered there was a fire on the ground floor lobby," she said.

-- BERNAMA