A patient who was seriously injured in a fire in a room at Marie Curie Civil Hospital in Lodelinsart on Tuesday morning has died, the Charleroi Public prosecutor’s Office said on Wednesday.
The fire broke out shortly before 05:00 in the hospital’s cardio-thoracic surgery ward. According to the hospital, the patient’s bed caught fire.
Nursing staff and the hospital’s internal security team extinguished the flames with a fire extinguisher and evacuated patients from the ward.
In total, 17 people were moved as a result of the incident. 13 patients were transferred to another department within the hospital.
Two patients who suffered mild smoke inhalation were taken to the emergency department for treatment.
The patient in the room where the fire started, who suffered severe burns, was transferred to the burns unit at the Grand Hôpital de Charleroi. The Charleroi Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed on Wednesday morning that the patient later died from those injuries.
According to the first findings of the investigation, a lighter was found near the bed. Investigators believe the fire was most likely caused by a cigarette being lit close to an oxygen mask.
The blaze also caused material damage to the hospital room affected by the fire.
