The building houses TB patients.
Eyewitness checks revealed that the fire which resulted from power surge in the building engulfed the entire top floor of the building.
The centre is a referral centre for over 15,000 TB patients from different parts of the country.
Eyewitness account informed that the fire spread to the entire building because the building was built with plank which caught fire very quickly.
It was gathered that in-patients who noticed the fire tried to put it out but could not because of the barbed wires used to protect the building.
According to the witness, “The fire spread because there were too many barbed wires. It was not easy to access the building. Even the fire fighters were hindered because they had to first of all remove the barbed wire before they could access the building.”
The DOT is close to the Children Emergency Ward and the Modular Theatre where major surgeries are performed.
As at time of filing this report, there were three fire fighting vehicles at the scene of the incident. All of them were working hard to put the fire under control.
Though there was no casualty, drugs running into several millions of naira were destroyed by the inferno.
These drugs were donated by the government of the United States of America.
Those who spoke to Eyewitness last night called on the Federal Government to urgently put in place a short term emergency plan to get drugs for the TB patients to prevent a relapse and resistance.
“Most of the drugs are very expensive and a lot of patients can’t afford them, government should step in immediately to provide drugs in the short term because the patients can’t afford to stop using the drugs,” they claimed.
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