FIRE broke out early Tuesday morning on the fourth floor of the St. Vincent Ferrer, O.P. Building of the UST Hospital, causing some patients to be evacuated from the building.
Hospital employees noticed smoke coming from the aircon room on the fourth floor, where the fire started, according to the Sampaloc sub-station of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Manila.
Firefighters responded to the blaze at 2:53 a.m. and declared the first alarm at 3:16 a.m.
More than an hour after the fire broke out, firefighters declared it under control at 4:09 a.m. and declared the fire out by 4:15 a.m.
Some patients were temporarily evacuated to the Quadricentennial Pavilion Practice Gym due to the fire.
Short circuit or problems with electrical wiring are being looked into as the possible cause behind the blaze, based on reports from BFP Sampaloc.
The UST Hospital said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon that all patients were able to return to their rooms, with some being transferred to the St. John Paul II Building of the hospital.
“The fire incident was isolated immediately as it only involved a specific area,” the statement read. “All necessary safety measures were taken to ensure the well-being of our patients and our personnel.”
“We assure the public that USTH services were not affected by the incident, and normal operations proceeded as usual,” it continued. “USTH is also ready to receive admission of patients.”
The cost of damage to UST Hospital facilities has yet to be determined.
