Fire guts UCH building in Ibadan

Fire has gutted a building in the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

Confirming the incident on Saturday, August 19, 2023, the UCH Chief Medical Director (CMD), Prof. Abiodun Otegbayo, said there was no cause for alarm over the fire outbreak.

Otegbayo, while speaking with newsmen in Ibadan, said there was no reason to worry as the fire which engulfed part of the hospital on Saturday morning has been put off.

He disclosed that the hospital management had immediately after the fire broke out alerted three different fire services which quickly mobilised their resources and arrived to put off the inferno.

The UCH CMD said: “Contrary to a speculation, no patient was trapped in the inferno. But it affected part of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and one of the theatres.”

Otegbayo, however, assured relatives and families of patients that everything was under control, adding that services have since commenced through immediate alternative arrangements.

Also speaking on the incident, the General Manager of Oyo State Fire Service, Yemi Akinyinka, said the fire outbreak had been contained.

Akinyinka said: ”We got a distress call about the incident from one Mr Dare at about 11:36 a.m and immediately rushed to the scene.

”The fire has now been put off by our men, with the support of the Federal Fire Service and the UCH Fire Service.”