Fire razes Warri clinic, sacks patients

A noon fire, yesterday, in Willie Street, Warri, Delta State, razed the entire top floor of Syracuse Clinic, belonging to popular surgeon and television health enlightenment campaigner, Dr. Victor Oroegbu.

It took the intervention of youths in the neighbourhood to prevent the fire from spreading to the adjoining residence of the medical director and other buildings standing close to the affected clinic.

When Vanguard visited the scene, the youths were still busy pouring water on flashes of flames on the already ruined roof of the top floor of the single-storey clinic.

A by-stander at the scene said: “The youths were timely in evacuating patients and staff on the top floor. When a fire service van rushed in, we thought respite had come.

“You will not believe the fire van ran out of water shortly after arrival. And they were just redundant, without making any effort.

“If not for the youths, it would have been a different story, because buildings in the area are standing just too close.”

The Medical Director, Dr. Oroegbu, had barely returned to duty at the clinic from Delta Broadcasting Service, Warri, as guest on its health enlightenment television programme, when the fire started.

Oroegbu said he could not pinpoint the actual cause of the fire and the point where it started, but indications were rife that power surge may have sparked the fire.