Inverter Battery Sparks, Ignites Fire at Finance Ministry

Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja

What would have snowballed into a major inferno was averted Wednesday morning at the headquarters of the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Abuja following a fire outbreak in a section of the building which was promptly put out.
Eyewitnesses said the fire incident at the ministry occured at about 7am.
According to them, the fire was triggered by an explosion from inverter batteries at the basement of the minister’s building.
The Special Adviser to the Minister on Media and Communications, Yunusa Tanko Abdullahi, confirmed that the fire occurred between last night and early this morning but had since been put out.
He could not volunteer further information.
THISDAY gathered that no casualty was recorded nor any major damage to the building as security personnel in the premises promptly rose to the occasion to put out the fire before it could spread and cause damage.
Fire extinguishers strategically located in the premises were reportedly used to successfully fight the fire, even before the arrival of the fire service personnel.
An official of the ministry told THISDAY that it was “a minor fire incident.”

Details later…