The control room and the studio of the Bauchi State Television Authority (BATV) was razed by a fire that lasted for about two hours on Friday afternoon.
An eyewitness told Daily Trust that the fire started around 12.30pm when most of the staff of the station had left to attend Friday prayers.
Staff left behind noticed smoke coming from the locked studio room soon after.
The eye witness alleges that the fire incident may have been connected with the restoration of power supply after a two day blackout, which occurred around the same time the fire started.
The few staff of the station on ground including the Managing Director battled the inferno for close to 30 minutes before men of the state Fire Service and another fire fighting vehicle from Federal Polytechnic Bauchi doused the flame. By this time, it had completely damaged the studio and the control room of the station.
The office of the Managing Director, situated very close to the studio room was however not affected.
Speaking to newsmen after the incident, the Managing Director of the station, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris Shall described it as unfortunate..
He explained that they had been gone from the office for less than 20 minutes when he received a call that the studio block was on fire and had to rush down and assist in battling the fire.
Alhaji Idris Shall stated that the station will find it difficult to operate for now but they will strategise and consider the possibility of moving to a new studio which was not yet fully operational. He also disclosed that the transmitter of the station was not affected by the fire.
Daily Trust