Jesse Otegbayo, the chief medical director (CMD) of University College Hospital (UCH) in Ibadan, says the electric spark incident at the hospital did not affect any room or equipment.

Mr Otegbayo, while reacting to reports of a fire incident at the hospital on Sunday morning, said it was a spark and was brought under control within minutes.

The UCH CMD told journalists that a spark at the changeover in one of the medical laboratories turned into fire.

“The smoke alerted our security men who used fire extinguishers to quench it and also called in the fire service.

“About 8:30 a.m., the changeover panel in the medical laboratory sparked when public electricity was restored, and this caused a power surge. But it was put out within 10 minutes, and it was limited to one room alone.

“The fire service officials also arrived on time and rendered excellent service to reduce the effects of the outbreak,” he said.

Mr Otegbayo added he was happy that the incident did not disrupt the hospital’s services.

“Most of the pictures of the fire outbreak being spread around are not pictures of what happened at UCH. The management of the hospital has, however, put in place all necessary measures to prevent a recurrence of such in the hospital.

“The general public is hereby assured of the safety of lives and property in the hospital. We express deep appreciation for the support shown and given to the hospital regularly,” the CMD said.

(NAN)