SIBU: A thick smoke coming out from the main building of Sibu Hospital at Jalan Ulu Oya here, triggered panic among the patients and their families this morning.
In the 8.15am incident, the smoke from the first floor had forced evacuation of all the patients from their ward.
A witness, who only wanted to known as Ambrose, said he was shocked to see everyone rushing out from the building.
"I was on the ground floor during the incident and a nurse had told me that there was smoke coming out from the ceiling of a toilet," he said.
However, he said everything was under control within an hour after Fire and Rescue Department personnel arrived.
"I believed it was a small fire as all the patients were allowed to return to the ward afterwards," he added.
Meanwhile, a department spokesman said 19 firemen from here and Sungai Merah stations were sent to the scene after receiving a distress call at 8.19am.
"The smoke was from a toilet ceiling on the first floor and the hospital staff had evacuated all the patients before our team arrived.
“We managed to douse the fire before it spread," he said.
No casualties were reported and checks were underway to determine cause of fire.