Fire destroys three offices at Korle Bu
Fire yesterday gutted three offices at the Pharmaceutical Department of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and destroyed office equipment, mainly computers, air conditioners and furniture, but there was no casualty.
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The fire reportedly started at about 2 p.m. from the ceiling of the Common Room at the Pharmaceutical Department and spread to two nearby offices.
A number of the staff of the department the Daily Graphic spoke to said they first saw thick smoke coming from the ceiling of the Common Room.
The Deputy Director of the Pharmaceutical Department of the hospital, Mr Joseph Turkson, said they first detected the fire after a meeting between management of the department and a delegation from the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation.
Timely intervention
However, the timely intervention of fire personnel helped to contain the fire outbreak, which was put out with two fire engines and a private water tanker.
When the Daily Graphic visited the scene at about 2.45 p.m., fire personnel and officials of the Korle Bu Hospital had already quenched the fire.
The firefighters were unable to immediately establish the cause of the outbreak.
Investigations
They, however, said they had begun investigation to establish the source.
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“There is an investigation currently underway,” Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Mr Samuel Nana Brenya of the Korle-Bu Fire Service, told the Daily Graphic.
He said the damage the fire caused was not severe because of the timely intervention of the firefighters, adding that “the fire could have easily spread to other offices if we had not arrived on time”.
Challenges
He stated that efforts to quench the fire proved challenging mainly because of the many barricades at the offices that could have caused staff to be trapped in the fire.
“There are burglar proofs in the windows and the exit locked with a padlock,” he said, adding that “as much as management is trying to curb pilfering, they must be mindful of the safety of staff during emergency”.
The Public Relations Officer of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Mr Mustapha Salifu, said no injury to staff and patients was recorded from the fire outbreak.
“So far, the fire did not affect any vital facility at the Pharmaceutical Department, except a few pieces of equipment and office furniture that were burnt,” Mr Salifu stated.