Staff save hospital kitchen from fire

Momase, Normal

QUICK action by Vanimo General Hospital security personnel and staff prevented a fire from destroying a kitchen last Friday.
The fire started when a rat became trapped in the kitchen’s power meter box.
“The staff quickly switched off the hospital’s stand-by generator’s main switch and used fire extinguishers to put out the blaze. The hospital was in the dark from 10.30pm to midnight,” hospital acting chief executive officer Elias Kapavore said.
“It could have been worse if the fire was allowed to spread’, he said, describing the staff as brave and confident.
“It was also a real test for the staff in fire safety and response, the use of the alarm system, fire extinguishers and evacuation,” he added.
He also commended the staff for the well-coordinated movement of patients to the assembly areas.
Vanimo Hospital has a well-defined emergency and disaster response plan with ongoing staff training on the use of fire extinguishers. 
This is a mandatory requirement and the hospital was awarded the five-star rating in 2008.
Mr Kapavore said he had noted some improvements to be made in the near future for the hospital to be fully-prepared for such  calamities, especially in Vanimo where there was no fire brigade.
The hospital kitchen is one of the oldest buildings and is earmarked for a full renovation in March that will include the construction of a cafeteria.