The chief medical director of Ifako Ijaiye General Hospital in Lagos, Bamidele Mustapha, has confirmed that no lives were lost in the fire outbreak that occurred at the hospital on Thursday afternoon.
The incident, which took place around 3:30 p.m., caused panic among staff and patients, but was swiftly contained, according to the CMD.
Speaking at the scene, Dr Mustapha expressed gratitude that there were no casualties or injuries recorded.
“I was having a meeting in my office when I heard people shouting and we all rushed out — behold, it was a fire outbreak,” he recounted.
“We thank God that the fire services had earlier given us fire drills and extinguishers were distributed all over the hospital, which helped us contain the fire, though we couldn’t put it out completely.”
He said that the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service responded within 10 minutes and successfully extinguished the fire.
At the time of the incident, the hospital had 110 patients on admission, including newborn babies and their mothers, all of whom were safely evacuated.
“Everyone, including staff and patients, is safe and alive,” Dr Mustapha assured.
“The infrastructure remains solid, and we suspect the fire may have been caused by a spark from electrical fittings, though that is yet to be confirmed.”
According to eyewitnesses, the fire originated from the nurses’ call room on the second floor.
One of the patient’s relatives, Suleiman Azeez, said he rushed to the hospital after receiving a distress call from his wife, who was on admission.
“Before I got there, the hospital management had already evacuated all the patients. I’m grateful to God for sparing our lives,” he said.
Authorities have not yet provided an official cause of the fire.
