Patient dies and 10 evacuate after mattress fire at Brașov hospital in Romania
A female patient died and 10 people evacuated after a fire broke out on the first floor of the Mârzescu hospital pavilion in Brașov, where staff extinguished the mattress blaze before firefighters arrived.
Fire outbreak and immediate response
A fire broke out on Sunday afternoon, 4 October 2026, inside a medical facility in the central Romanian city of Brașov. The incident took place on the first floor of the Mârzescu pavilion, a building affiliated with the Brașov County Emergency Clinical Hospital that houses the regional Pneumophthisiology clinic. Emergency dispatchers at the Brașov Emergency Situations Inspectorate received the first alert at approximately 16:15 local time, which reported flames inside a ward in Section 1. Hospital personnel and nearby patients intervened immediately upon detecting the smoke, taking direct action to limit the fire before municipal rescue crews reached the scene. The ward where the blaze ignited was situated on the upper level of the pavilion, requiring prompt coordination among healthcare workers to control the situation. Their intervention successfully prevented the flames from spreading beyond the single room to adjacent patient wards.
Casualties and evacuation
One female patient died inside the ward where the fire originated, with emergency responders finding her carbonized body once the smoke cleared. Ten other people, consisting of admitted patients and medical staff on duty on the first floor, evacuated the affected area to avoid smoke inhalation. The Romanian Ministry of Health published initial information confirming the fatality and outlining the suspected cause of the fire.
From early data, the event resulted in a victim found carbonized in the room, presumed to be the patient who caused the fire by setting a mattress on fire.
The ministry further detailed the evacuation of the section during the initial minutes of the incident.
Before the arrival of intervention teams, 10 people, both patients and medical staff, managed to safely self-evacuate.
Emergency deployment and ventilation
Following the 16:15 alarm, the Brașov Emergency Situations Inspectorate deployed a specialized emergency response convoy to the hospital pavilion. The mobilized fleet included a water and foam extinguishing truck, an aerial ladder, a dedicated extrication vehicle, two ambulances from the County Ambulance Service, and a SMURD mobile emergency resuscitation team. Firefighters confirmed upon entry that hospital personnel had already put out the active fire inside the ward. Medical teams on site verified that the evacuees were out of danger, while emergency crews checked the surrounding area to ensure heat had not penetrated neighboring structures. First responders then deployed exhaust equipment to ventilate the heavy smoke that had filled the corridors.
- Emergency services receive an alert about a fire on the first floor of the pavilion
- Hospital staff extinguish the mattress blaze as 10 people safely evacuate
- Firefighters ventilate smoke from the building and open an official investigation
Official investigation into the cause
Police, forensic experts, and fire service inspectors established an investigative perimeter at the Mârzescu pavilion to determine the exact sequence of events. The Ministry of Health noted that all initial conclusions regarding the ignited mattress remain preliminary until formal technical and forensic reports are completed. Authorities confirmed that specialized teams will examine both the physical evidence from the charred ward and the witness accounts of the staff who first tackled the blaze. Emergency crews stayed on site after the suppression effort to evaluate air quality and verify electrical and fire safety systems throughout the unit. These precautionary measures allowed the hospital to ensure that patients and healthcare staff in other sections of the facility remained protected.
