A fire outbreak has swept through the children's ward of the Saboba Hospital, destroying beds and other valuables.

The blaze, which started at around 5pm, also affected the NECO ward, which has 12 beds.

"We were able to evacuate all seven patients who were on admission at the time of the fire," said Nurse Manager George Olamba.

He said the fire tender's failure to respond effectively, delayed efforts to put out the fire, adding that community members had to step in, using buckets of water and other containers to extinguish the flames.

"When the fire service arrived, their pump could not respond, so the community members had to come in with buckets of water, and other containers to be able to put it off," Mr. Olamba explained.

He said the Ghana Fire Service has started investigating the cause of the fire.

This incident echoes a similar fire at Saboba Senior High School's girls' dormitory last year, where the fire tender also failed, resulting in the total destruction of the girls' dormitory and the death of a student.