Korle-Bu Pharmacy Catches Fire

The pharmacy department of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) yesterday caught fire, leaving three rooms of the department totally burnt.

The fire, which started at about 2pm from one of the rooms of the first floor of the department, was reported to have spread to the other two rooms consisting of offices being used as the drug information processing room and a common room.

The cause of the fire is officially unknown. However, it was said to have started from a faulty air conditioner in one of the rooms.

The fire destroyed documents and furniture but no lives were lost.

The Deputy Director of Pharmaceutical Services at KBTH, Joe Turkson, who witnessed the incident, said he, together with some officials from the Ministry of Health, had just finished a meeting when the fire started.

'We were going on sight inspection. As we stepped out from the conference room, all this place was black and we couldn't breathe.  We did not know what was happening so we opened the windows at the back for fresh air,' he said.

Mr Turkson said one of his companions suggested that they jump to escape.

'We three managed to jump to the first level, so thank God,' he added.

Samuel Nana Brenya, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Greater Accra Regional Fire Command, said it took the fire service 40 to 45 minutes to extinguish the fire, adding that the damage was not extensive due to the timely arrival of the fire service personnel.

He was, however, not able to tell the cause of the fire but said investigations had begun into the incident.

DSP Peter Yembila, the Korle Bu District Police Commander, who was at the scene with his men to maintain law and order and ensure that lives and property were not lost in the blaze, said their aim was achieved.

'As you can see, we have done our work and the fire has been quenched (sic),' he said.

He maintained that the police would also launch investigation into the occurrence to find out what exactly caused the fire.

A press release signed by Mustapha Salifu, Public Relations Officer of KBTH, assured the public that the fire outbreak had not disrupted the services and operations of the hospital.

By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri