Metro
Finance Ministry reveals cause of fire at Abuja Headquarters
The Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning on Wednesday, disclosed the reason behind the fire which engulfed a part of its Headquarters in Abuja.
This was contained in a statement issued by Mr Olajide Oshundun, who confirmed that it was only the battery room in the ministry that was affected.
Oshundun told newsmen at the ministry that the fire emanated from an exploded battery which affected 16 other batteries.
“Only the battery room compartment at the basement of the ministry was affected; the fire did not affect any other part of the ministry
“Necessary alarm was raised and the fire was put under control in about 20 minutes,’’ Oshundu said.
READ ALSO: SERAP sues Buhari over refusal to probe Finance Ministry for alleged missing N3bn
Corroborating, the Federal Fire Service (FFS) said the fire was caused by a spark on inverter batteries.
The FFS Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr Paul Abraham, confirmed this during a press briefing.
“To firefighters, there could be a smoke without fire but to civilians, every smoke is caused by fire,” Abraham said.
He said that when the service received a report of the fire outbreak, it deployed a team to the ministry to put the fire under control.
“We got the call at about 7 a.m. and immediately sent our men from three stations – Garki, Federal Secretariat and Wuse.
“The situation is totally under control and did not disturb the business of the day,’’ he said.
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