Fire destroys over 1k patient files at Nimhans | Bengaluru News

Bengaluru: More than 1,000 patient files and registers were destroyed in a fire at the medical records department (MRD) within the OPD building of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (Nimhans) on March 13. The fire was contained, but the matter has not been reported to police yet.The incident occurred around 6.30pm after the department had closed. “We got a call from Nimhans at 6.59pm, seeking help,” said G Ravikumar, a firefighter who works with the state fire and emergency services department. “Our personnel reached the hospital by 7.06pm, extinguished the fire, and got back by 10.25pm,” he told TOI.Dr Shashidhara HN, resident medical officer at Nimhans, said that soon after smoke was noticed emanating from the MRD windows, action was taken and sprinklers activated, which helped contain the fire. “The fire did not spread as a major blaze; instead, it caused superficial damage to a few hundred patient record files and some registers, with no complete destruction or casualties reported,” he said, adding the hospital has a digital hospital information system in place (introduced in July 2025) and hence most records are backed up.Though the authorities claim that the fire will not impact patient care, sources say otherwise. The damage is not just limited to the loss of handwritten prescriptions by senior doctors, as claimed by the authorities. “Seven racks were burnt to ashes, each of which had at least 60 files. The destroyed or damaged records may include medico-legal/court case files and records related to prison inmates referred for mental health evaluation, raising potential legal implications,” said a source, on the condition of anonymity.Meanwhile, Dr Shashidhara said an inspection (including an external biosafety/fire safety person) identified two likely sources: overheating from an old tubelight choke or an exhaust fan. “We haven’t filed an FIR yet, as there is no loss of life, injury, major property loss, or suspicion of foul play… Future precautions will include replacing old tubelights with LED lighting (supported by a govt action plan/grant) and reorganising MRD storage/furniture to reduce dense packing so any future fire would be less likely to spread,” he added.Dr Arvinda HR, medical superintendent at Nimhans, said the suspected cause is an electrical short circuit, but this is only a preliminary assessment.