Kabwe Mine Hospital laundry gutted, fire tender fails to put out fire due to low capacity

The laundry section at Kabwe Mine hospital in Kabwe last night caught fire which burnt linen and equipment. The fire which started at about 18hrs, sent hospital staff busy removing patients from the wards who were later referred to Kabwe General Hospital. The fire started after an explosion in the laundry and grew bid burning down materials and the roof.

Kabwe Municipal Council fire brigade responded quickly to the call, but due to low capacity of the fire engine, the fire men could not manage to put off the inferno. ZANIS reports that Central province minister Obvious Mwaliteta who also rushed to the scene confirmed the development in an interview , today.

Mr. Mwaliteta who expressed shock at the development described the destruction as sad as the hospital had lost its linen worth millions of kwacha in the inferno. He said government through the ministry of Local Government and Housing, should consider buying bigger fire tenders if the nation is to manage fighting the fires that have destroyed property.

And Bwacha constituency member of parliament Sydney Mushanga who was also present appealed to the same ministry to consider buying bigger fire tenders to fight big infernos.

Meanwhile provincial acting medical officer Abel Kabalo said there were 35 patients admitted to the hospital at the time the fire started and were all evacuated and taken to Kabwe General Hospital. He however assured that his office will work hard to ensure operations at the laundry resumed as soon as possible.

The fire took almost three hours to be quenched as hospital ambulance also took turns to ferry patients to Kabwe general hospital. Dr. Kabalo also said investigations into what transpired will go on so that efforts to avoid a reputation of the same incident in future.