More Details Emerge on Sally Mugabe Hospital Fire Incident
More details have emerged about the fire that broke out on Saturday, 28 June 2025, at Sally Mugabe Central Hospital in Harare. The blaze started in a rooftop storeroom directly above a female ward, the theatre, and the intensive care unit (ICU), triggering panic and a swift emergency response.
Mafume said the fire brigade arrived just seven minutes after being called and managed to contain the flames within 40 minutes. According to him, the speed of the response helped prevent a much larger disaster.
More Details Emerge on Sally Mugabe Hospital Fire Incident
He explained that the records were kept on the rooftop; a requirement for public institutions, which must store such files permanently. Unfortunately, paper documents and electrical equipment fed the flames, causing the fire to spread quickly in the storeroom area.
“We are at the place, at the rooftop of one of the buildings that are here at Harare Hospital, where they were storing their records. In terms of the law, all public institutions must store records that they have used for a period of time permanently. At this place, it’s the roof, on top of the roof were solar panels, about ten of them, which were powering the lab. A fire broke out, and the fire then spread quickly because of the documentation, the paper and other equipment that was being stored here. They phoned the fire brigade, which responded within seven minutes of the call and managed to take about 30 to 40 minutes to contain the fire and avoid it spreading to other departments.”
ICU Patients Evacuated as Precaution
Because the fire broke out directly above the ICU and the A1 unit (used for patients with fractures and bone injuries), all patients were immediately evacuated as a precaution. Electricity to the affected block was temporarily shut off while emergency teams worked to contain the situation. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
“This roof is directly above the intensive care unit and also the A1 unit, which houses those with fractures and bones that need operations. All the patients were evacuated. Power was temporarily switched off to try and avoid the power spreading. The patients were taken out and elsewhere so that they would not be at risk,” he added.
He confirmed that while the records and solar panels were destroyed, the fire did not spread to other departments. Mafume praised the alertness of hospital staff and the fire brigade for acting swiftly.
“But we are happy to say that the fire has been contained. The damage has only been to the records and to the solar panels that were there. We want to thank the alertness of the people who called the fire brigade, and we want to thank our men and women working at the fire brigade for coming very quickly,” Mafume said.
Watch the video below:
Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume says the fire at Sally Mugabe Central Hospital has been contained and patients evacuated. He says investigations are now underway to establish the cause of the fire.
: Matthew Masinge pic.twitter.com/o9PzLRicC4
— The Herald Zimbabwe (@HeraldZimbabwe) June 28, 2025
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The post More Details Emerge on Sally Mugabe Hospital Fire Incident appeared first on iHarare News.
