From Tony John, Port Harcourt

Fire has burnt a part of the Podium Block at the Rivers State Secretariat on Monday.

The fire also affected the section that houses the Rivers State Pension Board, which was recently dissolved by Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

One of the permanent secretaries whose office is in the affected building, said it is not yet clear if there are any casualties.

He said the inferno would have been disastrous if it had caused during working hours.

At the time of filing this report, it could not be ascertain the cause of the fire outbreak.

The state fire service made frantic efforts to control the fire from escalation.

It would be recalled that before the exit of the sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd), he promised to carry out renovation work of the building, but could not achieve it.

The secretariat was built by the first military administrator of the old Rivers State, Alfred Diete-Spiff.

The complex is a cluster of five high-rising buildings, with the tallest building is 17-storey called Point Block, followed by other 10-storey buildings called Podium Block.

The secretariat was first rehabilitated in 2004 during administration of former governor Peter Odili.

Meanwhile, the Head of Rivers State Civil Service, Dr. (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, says there were no casualties during a fire incident.

Speaking to newsmen on the ground floor of Podium Block, location of the incident, the Head of Service disclosed that on noticing the fire outbreak, the State Fire Service and other agencies were promptly called to contain the inferno.

She said: “We were informed that there was a fire incident at the right wing, ground floor of Podium Block
and we immediately made calls to the River State Fire Service, and they responded promptly.

“We also called other partners of the state, such as Renaissance, Federal Fire Service, and the military, who all promptly sent their fire trucks. It was a combined effort. And as we speak, you can see that the fire has been contained,” she stated.

“We thank God, and we thank His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, for being proactive in rehabilitating the fire service before this time. If not for his investment in the fire service, this situation would have been worse,” she stressed.

She disclosed that no life was lost, even though the state medical service was on the ground to in case of any emergency.

She explained that preliminary reports suggest the fire may have been as a result of electrical faults and thereby called on all civil servants to be responsible in putting off all electrical services at the close of work.

“We urge all civil servants to take responsibility in safety. Put off our sockets and our lights. Not just putting off the sockets, but unplug to ensure there is no residual charge because these buildings are heritage buildings and we don’t want anything to happen to them,” she admonished.

Brown further assured that Governor Fubara was working on measures to refurbish the secretariat buildings, which will be made known soon.