Johor hospital fire: Last man out grateful to nurse who spotted him

JOHOR BARU, Oct 27— “Terrifying” would aptly describe the experience of being the last one left behind in a hospital ward at the height of the fire at Sultanah Aminah Hospital on Tuesday.

Everyone else were evacuated — and Abdul Rahman Khamis feared the worst.

Just then, he saw a glimmer of hope when a nurse, on her final check, found him lying on the bed in the corner.

Realising the condition he was in, the nurse called out for assistance, and several of her colleagues responded.

The 64-year-old heart patient narrated his experience to Malay Mail when met at the hospital’s Bunga Raya ward yesterday.

Abdul Rahman, who was admitted on September 4, said there was the commotion on the corridor outside his ward just before 9am which caught his attention.

“I began to panic, and seeing the other more able-bodied patients move out heightened my anxiety,” he said.

Soon he found himself all alone and still in bed in his ward as the rest had been evacuated.

“I thank God there was a nurse who came back to make sure everyone had moved out safely, and it was then she spotted me,” he said.

The nurse shouted for help, prompting five hospital staff, three nurses and two doctors to rush to Abdul Rahman’s aid.

They pushed his bed, which were on rollers, towards the exit door and then lifted him in a stretcher down the stairs and into the open compound, away from the fire and thick plume of smoke.

“I feared for my life when I saw smoke billowing through the windows,” Abdul Rahman said.

“I counted my blessings when the medical team came to help me. I owe my life to them.” 

Choo Chin Kuang was assisted out of his ward in a wheelchair.

Another patient, Choo Chin Kuang, 35, who was also in the Bunga Raya ward, said he was initially confused as to what was going on.

“I was resting when I saw my doctor running up and down the corridor shouting for everyone to get out,”  Choo, who underwent surgery over the weekend, said.

“It was only minutes later that I saw thick black smoke from my window. The fire alarm went off and I was rushed out on a wheelchair.” 

Choo said he was grateful for the timely assistance from hospital staff during the fire.

“I have been in hospital for about a week now, and since then, the hospital staff  have treated me like a member of their family, always looking out for me,” he said.

Choo said he was at the open compound for several hours before being relocated to another ward.