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October 12, 2013

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10 killed, 5 hurt in Japan hospital fire

Source: AFP | October 12, 2013, Saturday | Print Edition

A FIRE that ripped through a hospital in Japan as patients slept killed 10 elderly people yesterday and prompted government demands for safety reviews across the country.

The blaze, which broke out in the middle of the night, left a further five people injured, police said, with the fire and disaster management agency saying four of them were in a serious condition.

Video footage aired on public broadcaster NHK showed firefighters surrounding the hospital in the city of Fukuoka, in the southwest, as smoke poured from the front entrance of the partially gutted building. Dark streaks of soot were smeared across the second-floor windows.

“We have confirmed the deaths of 10 people — eight in-patients and two hospital workers,” said a local police spokesman. The two hospital workers were a former hospital director and his wife.

All of those who died were between the ages of 70 and 89, police said.

The fire raged for around two hours, having started at 2:20am at the four-story building, which opened as an orthopedic hospital in 1970. The hospital has 19 beds, with suites for orthopedics, rheumatism and rehabilitation.

Local media reported the fire may have started at a treatment room which had a laser device and thermal therapy equipment that used a water boiler.

Hours after the tragedy, Japan’s fire and disaster management agency issued administrative guidance to fire headquarters nationwide that officials check hospitals to ensure medical organizations are prepared for nighttime fires.

It also sent seven officials to the scene to probe the cause of the disaster.

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