Africa-Press – Uganda. Drugs, vaccines and medical equipment valued at over Shs1 billion were Thursday night destroyed following a fire that gutted Busia medical stores and razed down the entire building that houses the records department for the pensioners.
The fire, which started a few minutes to 9pm, came two days after National Medical Stores delivered some drugs to the stores located at the District headquarters in Madibira Village.
Mr Yahaya Juma, the district councilor for Eastern Division, said the NMS had just delivered some essential drug supplies to the stores two days ago.
“We are concerned that the burnt store received drug supplies two days ago and all is now destroyed,” he said.
Dr Matthias Wabwire Panyako, the District Health Officer, however, said most of the drugs that had been delivered were sent out to the lower health facilities, but admitted that the burnt store was a reservoir for medicines for all the health facilities in the district.
Dr Wabwire added that medicines, vaccines for immunizing children and for Covid-19, all the fridges which they had been given by the Ministry of Health, oxygen cylinders and the whole inventory for all the health facilities and Ministry of Health, all valued at over Shs1 billion, were lost in the fire.
Mr Amuza Kadogo, who lives within proximity of the medical stores, told Daily Monitor that he was at his home when he saw the medical store engulfed by a huge inferno.
“I was at my home when I saw a huge fire and when I ran there, I found the medical stores burning,” he said.
Despite the arrival of the fire and rescue services of the Police department, fire spread fast, reducing all the medicines, vaccines, records and equipment to rubble.
Mr Apollo Okolongo, the Busia district officer in-charge of fire and rescue services, said he got a call “a few minutes to 9pm”, notifying him about the fire outbreak at the District and that whereas they responded on time, they had challenges accessing the building.
He said: “The doors to the premises had burglar proof and breaking them in order to access the rooms where the fire was became hard.”
By Friday morning, smoke continued to bellow out of the burnt stores, while fridges, record books, oxygen cylinders, medicine vials and vaccines were all reduced to rubble.
Police are yet to establish the cause of the fire.
Mr Stephen Mugeni Wasike, the District LC5 chairperson, didn’t rule out sabotage and urged the Police to take up the matter and investigate.
Mr Grace Kanuna, the Deputy Resident District Commissioner, said while the cause of the fire outbreak remains unknown, they are going to write to authorities in Kampala for quick intervention.
Ms Teddy Auma, a resident fears the fire incident spells doom for people whose demand for health services was on the rise.
Mr Patrick Sanya, the Madibira Village LC1 chairman called for quick government intervention and replenishment of the supplies that have been lost in the fire.
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