The government has ordered a full investigation into the cause of the latest fires at Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) in Johor Baru, which killed six people and injured 11 others.

However, there are still no guarantees that such a tragedy will not recur, or can be prevented.

More so with the latest round of cuts announced under Budget 2017, including on allocations to the Health Ministry.

Here is what we know and don't know about the incident.

What we know

1) There were two consecutive fires on Oct 25 and Oct 26.

A fire broke out at HSA's Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on the morning of Oct 25.

A video clip and pictures obtained by Malaysiakini shows flames on the second floor of the building, next to the hospital’s Emergency and Trauma Department.

It was later confirmed that 10 staff members were also affected, including two admitted to the ICU at Sultan Ismail Hospital while another was admitted to Sultan Aminah Hospital.

The second fire broke out on Oct 26 in the hospital's operation theatre, forced another evacuation, and injured three nurses.

2) Electrical sparks from an old wiring system could have caused both the fires.

In the first incident, sparks were spotted from electrical wiring in the southern ICU treatment room, prompting a personnel on duty into action.

The following morning, an electric socket short circuited, which led authorities to order a full inspection of the hospital's electrical wiring.

The electric socket reportedly became wet following post-fire clean-up services.

3) There was a history of past fires at HSA but no recent fire drill.

The Johor Baru Fire and Rescue Department on Oct 27 said there was a small fire which broke out in the hospital's ICU, some 10 days before the latest incidents.

The Star had also quoted sources who said that there had been more than seven fires at the hospital over the last four years.

However, it was revealed that there were no fire drills conducted at the hospital in the past two years.

4) The evacuation process was hampered.

According to Johor Baru Fire and Rescue Department chief Ibrahim Omar, most parts of the hospital have a first response team, except for the ICU ward.

This is despite it being a legal requirement for every building to have its own first response team.

5) HSA scored an "average" rating in an audit conducted by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (Dosh) four years ago.

Dosh deputy director-general Omar Mat Piah reportedly said that the last audit, conducted in 2012, was a general one related to the hospital’s occupational safety and health.

Among others, the hospital administration is required to ensure unrestricted access to evacuation points, in the event of an emergency.

6) The services and operation of HSA's Emergency and Trauma Department have been temporarily suspended from Oct 28.

The department, a part of its main building, was ordered to be closed in stages to enable safety inspection works, including wiring, structure and related matters.

Repair works to be carried out are expected to take between two to four weeks.

In the meantime, various quarters have come forward to offer assistance, including private hospitals that established a fund to collect public donations to be channelled to HSA, in addition to aid in the form of food, drinks and essential items.

Among the hospitals are KPJ Johor Specialist Hospital and KPJ Puteri Specialist Hospital.

7) Emergency hospital set up at HSA.

The Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) had, beginning Oct 31, set up a field hospital in HSA's compound, comprising five units of field hospital modules.

The facility will operate on a 24-hour basis daily for two weeks, focusing on emergency cases.

The field hospital can treat 60 to 70 patients and perform five to six surgeries a day.

What we don't know

1) What was the actual cause of the fire?

There has so far been no official statement from the multi-agency task force set up to investigate the actual cause of fire.

Earlier speculations on the cause were based on observations by sources on the ground as well as the Fire and Rescue Department's initial investigations.

2) What is the outcome of the Health Ministry's investigations that HSA did not have a fire safety certificate?

Health Minister Dr S Subramaniam had on Oct 28 said it might not have been necessary to obtain the certificate when HSA opened its doors in 1938, but the hospital has since undergone numerous upgrading processes.

Since 1996, fire management and prevention has been part of the Hospital Support Services outsourced to a private company, in this case, Medivest Sdn Bhd.

3) Who is behind Medivest Sdn Bhd?

The government announced that it would not be suspending Medivest's contract over the fire as the company is also responsible for providing support services at other hospitals in Johor, Negri Sembilan and Malacca.

At the same time, questions have been raised over the initial 15 year contract - covering 25 hospitals - awarded through an exercise that has been criticised for its lack of transparency or competitive tendering.

It was reported that Medivest was one of three companies that submitted tenders for the contracts, with an estimated overall value of RM10 billion.

It was also reported that Medivest had received a 10-year concession renewal due to end in 2022, raising further questions on the selection criteria.

4) How much is spent on costs to maintain HSA?

Deputy Health Minister Dr Hilmi Yahaya had reportedly said that the concessionaire contracts given to Medivest are worth RM350 million a year in total.

From the figure, it remains unclear how much has been allocated specifically for HSA maintenance, among other services provided.

The government, under Budget 2017, has also allocated more than RM2 billion for such support services.

5) What is Medivest's maintenance and risk assessment records for HSA?

This question was raised by several opposition lawmakers in urging the government to review the contracts that have been awarded.

6) How much does the government need to spend on major renovation works at HSA?

In highlighting the issue of broken elevators at HSA, Malaysiakini had in February reported that the government would have to incur the costs of replacing entire elevators, while Medivest is in charge of regular maintenance.

The same applies to all other major repairs, including the ones following the latest fires.

This raises the question of effectiveness in the overall policy to outsource HSS, initially introduced to reduce the government's operational costs.

7) Can the government afford to allocate more funds to upgrade HSA?

8) In the meantime, what preventive measures have been taken to avoid the risk of another fire?