The World Health Organisation (WHO) vaccination storage facility at the Ayegbaju Market in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, was, on Saturday, razed by fire, with drugs belonging to the organisation destroyed.
It was gathered that the fire outbreak, which occurred around 12.13 p.m., consumed medical disposables, about 8,000 safety boxes, a motorcycle and four generating sets.
The medical disposables razed by the fire were mainly for the use of Osun State Immunisation Department, which works in conjunction with the WHO medical officials.
Sources said the fire outbreak was as a result of power surge from one of the generating sets which later spread to the drug store and a school building beside Ayegbaju Market.
However, the fire was put out by men of the Osun State Fire Service and Federal Fire Service who were assisted by some youths at the scene of the incident.
According to a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) official, Ajinase Alade, attached to the WHO facility, the fire started from a working generating set close to the storage facility.
“The fire started at about 12:13 p.m. from one of the power generating sets that was on to power the building where vaccines were stored.
“We quickly moved to remove the cars parked close to the fire and mobilised to put out the fire.
“Unfortunately, my motorcycle parked closed to the storage facility was burnt while helping to remove the cars,” he said.
Osun WHO Immunisation Officer and State Cold Vaccine Coordinator, Mrs Adebola Adeosun, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the cold vaccine storage office was not affected by the fire, but that the dry vaccine outlet was razed by fire.
She said a 60KVA generating set, one 12KVA generating set and two 18 KVA generating sets were also affected.
Adeosun also said two photocopy machines and two motorcycles were destroyed by the fire.
“About I61,795 pieces of 0.05ml needles and syringe, 633,871 pieces of 0.5-millilitre needles and syringe, 10,575 pieces of five-millilitre needles and syringe and 3,976 pieces of two-millilitre needles, syringe and 8,654 pieces of immunisation safety boxes were also destroyed by the fire,” she said.
Adeosun told NAN that officials of the state government and WHO officials had been to the incident site to assess the level of damage done by the fire.
A maintenance official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they applied self-efforts to stop the fire from spreading to other buildings and stores within the market.
NAN
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