Senators forced to abandon sitting and vacate National Assembly following fire outbreak

SENATORS were forced to abandon a plenary session and vacate the National Assembly premises earlier today after a fire outbreak this morning that suddenly broke out leading to a mass evacuation.

Apparently, the fire started while the lawmakers were coming into the chamber in preparation for the day’s sitting Staff of the assembly said the fire started from the technical room located at the ground floor of the National Assembly compound.

Workers at the complex  had to be evacuated to avoid being trapped by smoke, while Senators who were initially seated in the gallery area also had to be moved out. As of this afternoon, the cause of the fire is not yet known.

Staff were, however, making attempts to put out the fire with fire extinguishers. One staff member familiar with the technical room said the fire started where air conditioning units serving the assembly are kept.