STA, 29 January 2019 - Two people died in a fire that broke out at the palliative care unit at the general hospital in Jesenice (Splošna bolnišnica Jesenice) in the north-west of the country on Tuesday afternoon.
The fire has been put out by firefighters and the scene is being inspected by police and fire inspectors, Health Minister Samo Fakin, who rushed to Jesenice after being notified of the fire, told reporters.
The minister confirmed that the fire claimed two lives, and that one injured person with severe burns had been taken to UKC Ljubljana, the country's main hospital.
He said the police and the fire inspector working on the scene would look into what caused the fire.
Unofficial information suggests the fire was started by one of the patients.
The minister praised the hospital's staff for their prompt response saying that they "evacuated the patients despite the highly toxic environment".
Twenty employees sought medical assistance due to the fire-related issues but the minister said they did not suffer any major problems.
Robert Kejžar, the head of the intervention, told reporters that the staff started evacuating patients from the building even before the arrival of voluntary firefighters.
Fifty patients had been evacuated from the upper floors before the fire was put out.
The fire broke out in one of the rooms at the palliative care unit on the third floor. The units on the floors above include the paediatric and gynaecological departments.
Hospital director Janez Poklukar said the patients were being moved back to both departments, while he urged the women from the region due to go into labour tonight to report at the Kranj maternity hospital rather than Jesenice.
The palliative care unit where the fire started remains closed until further notice due to the criminal investigation under way. It will also need renovation, Poklukar said.
Neither the minster nor the hospital director or the police would talk about potential causes of the fire until the police have completed their inquiries.
The news web site 24ur.com cites unofficial information in saying that a patient put himself on fire before it caught on his roommate and they both died.
Hospital fires in Slovenia are rare and most have caused only damage to property. However, a 77-year-old patient died in a fire at Izola hospital in February 2011.
The fire was started by a 38-year-old who police established tried to burn the straps the 77-year-old was tied to the bed with.
A fire at an retirement home in Črnomelj in December 2017 also claimed one life as the resident who allegedly caused the fire died.
