The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Moses Ekuma, expressed sadness over the incident , adding that a cold storage facility housing vaccines and immunisation equipment was completely destroyed by the fire.
According to him, the affected facility contained several critical health items meant for distribution across health centres in the state.
Items destroyed in the fire included vaccines, vaccine carriers, cold chain boxes, laptops, documents, five refrigerators, two solar refrigerators, 45 solar batteries, inverters, hospital beds, and foams.
Ekuma explained that the equipment had earlier been supplied by the National Primary Health Care Development Authority (NPHCDA) in Abuja for onward distribution to health facilities in Ebonyi State.
He also revealed that several important vaccines stored in the cold room were destroyed.
“Different vaccines like BCG, Penta, HPV vaccines, among others that were stored in the cold room were burnt,” he said.
The commissioner, however, expressed gratitude that no lives were lost in the incident.
He also commended the Ebonyi State Fire Service, security personnel, and officials from the Ministry of Power and Energy for their prompt response after the fire outbreak was reported.
Ekuma stated that the exact cause of the fire remains unknown, but noted that the facility had experienced about five days without public power supply before the incident.
He added that the solar power system serving as an alternative source was also not functioning, which prompted officials to contact the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) to restore electricity a day before the fire occurred.
To determine the cause of the incident, the commissioner announced that a committee has been set up to investigate the fire and recommend measures to prevent future occurrences.
He also directed the Director of Administration in the ministry to allocate temporary office spaces for staff working in the Immunisation Unit, whose offices were affected by the fire.
According to him, the incident has caused significant disruption to immunisation operations in the state.
