Buchanan – The Liberian Government Hospital in Grand Bassa County on Friday, April 6, 2018 was gutted by fire for the second time in less than two weeks.
Eye witnesses told FrontPageAfrica that the fire began from the maternal ward and later extended to other parts of the hospital.
Jackson Kpue, a nearby resident, said the electricians were testing the machines when the fire started.
“Those guys at the hospital did not rewire the entire building before sending current into the building, all the wires in that building are old and they needed to have changed the wires in the building for which they didn’t do,” Kpue noted.
“This hospital is the only hospital we depend on in this county that’s why we all came in our numbers to help switch off the fire”.
Marian Dolo, another resident, said the continuous fire incidence at the hospital is the fault of the administrators.
“The electrician been complaining that the hospital needed to be rewired but they kept on paying depth ears to the electrician saying no money,” Dolo noted.
“The first time the entire generator room was gutted by fire due to electrical problem, today again the electricians just did some kind of work and decided to try it that how the damage got bigger,” she added.
The emergency room, maternal ward, dispensary, doctors’ examination room amongst other major parts of the facility was affected by the fire. But it did not extend to other places due to residents intervention.
The Liberia National Fire Service was nowhere to be seen as a reliable source from the office told Front PageAfrica that the fire truck had brakes problem for which they could not use the truck.
The Bassa legislative caucus and the county administration, and the hospital administrator are yet to make comments as it relates to the second fire outbreak.
The have been complaints that the hospital needed to be relocated as Senator Jonathan Kaipay announced that there are plans to relocate the hospital very soon.
The hospital, which is the only referral hospital in the county, stopped all of its operations due to a fire incident that occurred in March leaving five generators in ashes.
The Ministry of Health sent in two generators – 45KVA and 60KVA – and Senator Kaipay donated a 20KVA generator to enable the hospital restart operations.
Patients at the hospital were transferred and being treated at the Arcelor Mittal Hospital and the Catholic Health center.