Investigations into the fire at Virar’s Vijay Vallabh Hospital have revealed that while the fire took place around 2.30 am, the call to the fire brigade was made only at 3.15 am. The fire killed 15 patients on Friday last week. A fire official said lives could have been saved had a call been made earlier.

While the exact time is yet to be ascertained, it occurred between 2.30 am and 2.35 am. “But the fire brigade was called at 3.13 am,” said a source at the Crime Branch. “The number used to call the fire brigade does not belong to hospital staff,” the source added.