The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Fire disaster

  • ‘Nigeria lost N6tr worth of goods to fire disasters in five years’

    ‘Nigeria lost N6tr worth of goods to fire disasters in five years’

    The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior, Sen. Andy Uba, says Nigeria has lost over N6 trillion worth of goods to fire disasters in the past five years.

    Uba made the disclosure at the International Fire Conference and Exhibition, organised by the Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committee on Interior, held on Tuesday in Abuja.

    According to him, nationally, direct and indirect reported and unreported losses to the economy have been put conservatively at about N6 trillion.

    “Alarming as these numbers are, they could be significantly higher if all the incidents in rural areas were recorded by an efficient operational fire statistics database.

    “There is a general consensus on the need to mitigate this trend to stopping the fire before they start,” he said.

    The lawmaker told the Federal Government to reposition fire service delivery to make it modern and efficient.

    Uba, who noted that less than two per cent of Nigeria’s population were safety literate, called for media partnership on creating awareness on the issue.

    Declaring the two-day event open, the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, said that outbreaks were preventable given the necessary equipment and manpower.

    The vice-president was represented by the Minister of Interior, retired Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazzau.

    He said that with support from the legislature and backing from the presidency, the Federal Fire Service would be one of the best in the world within the next five years.

    “The effort by the National Assembly in the 2016 budget to procure five equipment is encouraging. This did not happen in the last 30 years or more.

    “We are doing our best to ensure that Nigeria remains safe. There is a correlation between climate change and conflict,” he said.

    The President of the Fire Disaster Prevention and Safety Awareness Association of Nigeria, Mr Badanga Lamidi, commended the senate for its effort in ensuring safety of Nigerians.

    NAN

  • Niger: Bello condoles with victims of fire disaster

    Niger: Bello condoles with victims of fire disaster

    Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger has condoled with victims of the fire disaster that claimed several lives and property in Jatai Maitumbi of Bosso local government areas of the state.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports on Monday that the incident occurred on Feb. 20 at about 3.30 a.m. when a high tension electric cable fell on residential houses.

    The inferno occasioned by the accident killed a Ward Head, his son and a Police Inspector in the community.

    NAN also reports that several houses were razed by the fire.

    Bello, who sympathised with the victims, said a committee would be set up to investigate the cause of the disaster.

    He directed Mr. Akubuko Mazi, Deputy Regional Manager, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), to formally report the incident to the government.

    “The loss is very difficult to understand. I urged you to write a report to your Head Office, stating exactly what happened while we wait for response.

    “As a government we will give our assistance to the families of the deceased,” he said.

    One of the victims, Mr. Audu Tanko, whose house was razed by fire, told NAN that “I was in the market when my wife called me that my house was on fire.

    “I quickly rushed back home only to see my house on fire.

    “I remember when officials of Power Holding Company came to connect high tension lines to Gurusu village. I explained to them that it was risky to connect high tension lines on top the wires that connect my house.

    “But they refused to adhere to what I told them. Look at the damages their carelessness has caused. They have left I and my family homeless,” he said.

    NAN also gathered that the deceased Police Inspector, Mr. Abu Gani, is survived by his wife and five children, while the Ward Head, Alhaji Tanko Saidu, left behind four wives and 27 children.

  • Fire destroy crops worth N50m at Edo community

    The people of Orhua community in Uhumwode local government area of Edo state are now counting their losses following the devastation of their farmlands by a wild bush fire.

    The agrarian community is home to business mogul, Dr Nosa Okunbo and the member representing Uhumwode in the Edo state House of Assembly, Mrs Elizabeth Ativie who was expected to raise the issue at plenary Wednesday. 

    The fire disaster which community dwellers said destroyed ‎ Oil palm, plantain and  Allied plantations,  also devastated subsistence  arable crop farms, leaving many jobless and hopeless.

    Elder Samuel Ozigbo, the oldest man in the community expressing frustration at the turn of events said though no lives and properties were lost, the farmlands destroyed is in the region of N50million.

    He said, “Cassava, Yam, Pineapple, cocoa, Plantain, Oil palm plantations are all gone. We are completely helpless. As you can see, we live in a forest area…our food is gone and there is none to even sell to get money to survive”.

    Elder Ozigbo said the fire came through a neighbouring village, Ozalla adding that many farmers are now in agony because they took loans to expand their farms and repayment ‎is a few months away.

    Community spokesperson, Mr. Francis Ebowe who ruled out sabotage in the incident said, “farming is our only source of income. We sell from the farms and also eat from it and now that all our farms are burnt, we don’t know what to do”.

    He then appealed to the state and federal governments to come to their rescue not by providing such relief materials as mattresses, blankets and assorted building materials but food items and cash support to enable many breadwinners meet their obligations.

  • Ghana mourns flood, fire victims

    Ghana mourns flood, fire victims

    Ghana on Monday started observing a three-day national mourning for people who lost their lives through flood and fire disasters in the capital, Accra.

    The double disaster claimed over 200 lives and destroyed properties worth millions of U.S. dollars last Wednesday.

    The inferno followed hours of prolonged downpour that led to power outages in several communities.

    A large number of the victims were believed to be taking shelter at a fuel station to escape the downpour when an explosion occurred.

    Hundreds more also sustained various degrees of injury and are receiving treatment at different hospitals in Accra.

    President John Dramani Mahama announced the three-day national mourning after a crisis meeting of the national Security Council moments after the incident.

    Flags were flown at half-mast across the country up until Wednesday and government is encouraging Ghanaians to wear black attire and red armbands during the period.

    The three-day mourning will end on Wednesday with a memorial service for the departed near the site of the fire disaster at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle to be attended by Mahama.

    “As we go about our work and duties during the three days, let us remember the victims and pray for their souls.

    “Let us also pray for strength and comfort for their families and friends,” Edward Omane- Boamah, Minister of Communications, said in a statement.

    The government has released 50 million cedis, approximately 15 million dollars to support victims of the flood and explosion.

    Mahama said after visiting the accident scene that drastic steps were necessary if the country was to permanently address the perennial flooding.

    “We will intensify efforts to expand and modernise our drainage,” he said.

  • One killed as fire guts 68 rooms in Ebonyi

    One killed as fire guts 68 rooms in Ebonyi

    A 20-year-old girl, Miss Mercy Elom was on Wednesday morning burnt to death as a mysterious fire gutted 68 rooms in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital.

    Elom was among the candidates that wrote this year’s Joint Admission and Matriculation Examination and an ICT apprentice at Pastoral Centre, a foremost ICT centre in the town.

    The fire outbreak, which started at around 1am occurred at 40 Igwe Liga Street, Mile 50 Abakaliki, a large residential compound of over 100 rooms.

    The dead victim, who hails from Onuenyim Agbaja, Izzi Local Government Area of the state was squatting with her girl friend who had travelled and left the house for her.

    Items worth millions were also destroyed by the inferno including motor cycles, tricycles, staff and students’ documents, refrigerators of different kind, electronics, house hold property among others.

    One of the victims whose father is the owner of the large compound, Elias Igwe said he was in deep sleep when noise from the residents about the inferno woke him up.

    “People were shouting Fire! Fire!! Fire!!! This woke me up. I came down from upstairs and saw everywhere engulfed by fire.

    “We tried to put off the fire but were helpless because it overpowered us. So I have to rush to the state fire service and contacted them with the help of the Divisional Police Officer, Kpirikpiri but the bad road leading to our compound affected their arrival and before they could arrive, the fire had gutted about 50 rooms,” he narrated.

    While some of the tenants were able to salvage a few of their property, some others were not so lucky especially the health workers and security officers who were on night duty when the incident happened.

    One of the tenants, Mr. Aleke Celestine lamented the loss of his vital documents and called on government to come to their aid.

    He said, “Yesterday night around after one, I was in my room when I heard voices of people shouting, we came out and saw a room burning, we went out and did our best to quench the fire but we couldn’t.

    “When the fire was getting out of hands we started bringing out our property. We couldn’t salvage most of our property including documents which we all lost to the fire. My appeal is that government should come to our aid”