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A fire outbreak has damaged the vaccine storage facility of the Ebonyi State Ministry of Health in Abakaliki, destroying vaccines and several pieces of medical equipment.
The fire reportedly occurred in the early hours of Friday at Block 5, Centenary City, a location used to store immunisation materials for the state.
During a visit to the scene, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Moses Ekuma, said the facility contained vaccines and equipment used for maintaining the cold-chain system required for routine immunisation.
Items said to have been affected include vaccine carriers, cold-chain boxes, laptops, official files, five refrigerators, two solar-powered refrigerators, and about 45 solar batteries and inverters.
Hospital beds and mattresses supplied by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) were also reportedly impacted.
The items had been scheduled for distribution to selected local government areas under the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Intervention programme.
Ekuma said no casualties were recorded and commended officials of the State Ministry of Power and Energy, firefighters and security personnel who responded to the incident and helped contain the blaze.
He noted that vaccines stored in the facility, including BCG, pentavalent and HPV, were among those affected.
According to the commissioner, the cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
He said the facility had experienced a power outage for several days, while the alternative solar system was also not operational at the time.
He added that the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) had earlier been contacted over electricity supply, while the technician responsible for maintaining the solar system was reportedly out of town prior to the incident.
Ekuma said a committee has been set up to investigate the circumstances surrounding the fire and recommend measures to prevent a similar occurrence.
He also directed that temporary arrangements be made for staff of the Immunisation Unit whose offices were affected by the incident.
Structural experts are expected to assess the building to determine the extent of the damage. Meanwhile, the Officer in Charge of Operations at the State Fire Service, Frank Oka Ota, said the agency received a distress call at about 5:18 a.m. and deployed firefighters to the scene.
He said the firefighters worked to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading to other sections of the building.
Ota also called for additional personnel to strengthen the state fire service’s capacity to respond to emergencies.
