Nigeria: Fire Razes Plateau Health College Medical Lab

10 March 2026

A fire outbreak on Tuesday morning gutted the medical laboratory section of the Plateau State College of Health Technology, Zawan, in Jos South Local Government Area of the state.

Witnesses told journalists that the incident reduced the laboratory to ashes.

The Provost of the college, Atangs Ishaku, confirmed the incident to journalists in Jos on Tuesday.

"Yes, it is true, but we do not know the cause yet. We are still assessing the situation," Ishaku said.

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He explained that he was alerted to the fire around midnight on Tuesday and immediately contacted the fire service.

"I first called the Federal Fire Service, but they said their vehicle had issues. I then contacted another fire service, which responded, but by the time they arrived, the fire had already caused extensive damage," he added.

Our correspondent, who visited the scene, reports that the incident left many students devastated, with several lamenting the loss of critical equipment and learning resources.

"This is a huge loss for us. We've lost valuable equipment and resources essential to our studies," a student, Mathew Gyang, said.

Another student, Sarah John, also expressed concern over the impact of the incident.

"It's really sad. We don't know how we will cope with the destruction of our lab facilities. The college must act quickly to address this," she said.

The cause of the fire remains unknown, while authorities are yet to determine the full extent of the damage.

Efforts to reach the spokesperson of the Federal Fire Service in the state, Ikibe Nanya Dul, for comments were unsuccessful as her phone was switched off at the time of filing this report.

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