Pakistan will honor a nurse who ran into a burning hospital nursery and rescued the only newborn to survive a fire that killed 14 other infants.
Razia Noreen will receive the Sitara-i-Khidmat (Star of Service), one of the country’s prestigious civil awards, along with about $36,000, after risking her life to save the baby at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad.
The fire broke out Wednesday in a third-floor nursery where 15 newborns were being cared for.
Security camera footage showed Noreen entering the burning nursery and emerging about eight seconds later with the baby in her arms. She attempted to return for the other infants but was stopped by flames and thick smoke as the fire rapidly spread through the ward.
Noreen later told Pakistani broadcaster Samaa TV that she had not acted for recognition.
“I did not do it for a reward. I love children, and caring for them is my passion,” she said.
She said she wanted to rescue the other babies but the fire spread through the nursery within minutes.
The nurse said she has struggled to sleep since the tragedy, haunted by the infants she was unable to save.
“I cannot sleep. Those babies do not let me sleep,” she said.
Inquiry exposes safety failures
The award comes as an investigation into the fire has raised questions about safety standards at the government hospital.
An interim inquiry ordered by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif found that the nursery lacked a fire alarm and sprinkler system. The hospital also did not have adequate procedures or training for responding to fires and other emergencies.
The investigation found that the nursery deteriorated catastrophically within about two minutes, leaving staff almost no time to evacuate the infants.
Eight hospital officials have since been suspended, with disciplinary proceedings launched and criminal proceedings ordered against those eventually found responsible.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Sharif also approved compensation of 5 million Pakistani rupees for each family that lost a newborn, according to the inquiry’s findings.
The tragedy has prompted wider reviews of fire-safety systems in hospitals across Pakistan, including inspections of emergency equipment and response procedures.
For Noreen, however, the recognition has done little to ease the grief of the infants she could not reach.
“I wanted to save the others,” she said. “But the fire spread through the nursery within two minutes.”
The episode has left Pakistan confronting two sides of the disaster: a nurse’s split-second decision that saved one newborn, and a hospital safety system now facing scrutiny after 14 others died.
