Fire Destroys Ebonyi State Health Cold Store, Millions Lost

A significant fire outbreak occurred early Friday morning at the Ebonyi State Ministry of Health's cold store in Abakaliki, resulting in the destruction of property valued at hundreds of millions of naira. The facility housed critical immunization materials, including vaccines, vaccine carriers, cold chain boxes, laptops, and documents.

Dr. Mose Ekuma, the state commissioner for health, lamented the loss, emphasizing that the incident dealt a major blow to the state's immunization program.

Fortunately, there were no reported casualties. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, with a committee set to recommend measures to prevent future occurrences.

The cold store had been without public power supply for five days, relying on a faulty solar backup system. Mr.

Frank Oka, in charge of operations at the Ebonyi State Fire Service, noted that their team responded promptly to the distress call, arriving at 5:18 AM, although the fire had already intensified. Governor Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru has committed to providing new firefighting trucks to enhance emergency response capabilities.