The Nation Newspaper

Tag: razes

  • Fire razes building in Aba

    Residents of No. 37 Immaculate off Aba-Owerri road have been thrown into mourning as fire, suspected to have started from an electric cooker, engulfed their building.

    According to reports, property worth several thousands of naira was destroyed in the fire.

    Sources from the Abia State Fire Service said the fire was prevented from spreading to two adjoining buildings.

    According to the source, it was suspected that the fire emanated from one of the rooms as the owner forgot to unplug an electric stove before a power outage.

    According to him, the situation became worse as the block, mainly occupied by students, went into flame as gas cylinders in various rooms exploded due to the heat.

    He added that they were alerted by a caller in Umuahia, and that their timely intervention prevented the fire from escalating beyond human reach.

    He said: “We got a call from a good Samaritan in Umuahia about the fire. We quickly went to the area and though we met initial resistance from people who wanted to attack us, but we eventually went in and attacked the fire.

    “We prevented the fire from spreading to other buildings and later went room by room to damp the fire. Occupants of the building said someone left an electric cooker on which caused the fire when power was restored.”

  • Fire razes girls’ hostel in Ekiti community

    Fire razes girls’ hostel in Ekiti community

    A noon fire has razed the hostel of Federal Government Girls’ College at Efon Alaaye in Ekiti State.

    The fire, which was said to have occurred on Monday, reportedly destroyed the pupils’ personal effects, like clothes, books and provisions.

    No life was lost in the incident.

    Also destroyed in the blaze were mattresses, cupboards, curtains and some facilities belonging to over 150 pupils.

    A source told our reporter yesterday that the fire might have been caused by a power surge as a faulty electricity point in the dormitory was reportedly rectified the previous day.

    The fire, which razed the Favour Integrity Hostel, was said to have started from the ceiling.

    All the pupils in the hostel have the single uniform they were wearing when the fire started while other uniforms and personal clothes had been burnt.

    The pupils urged the Federal Government, the owners of the school, to come to their aid.

    The school authorities called men of Fire Service from Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, and nearby Ilesa in Osun State but their vehicles could not get into the school because of the hilly topography.

    The inability of the firemen to enter the school compound prolonged the time the inferno razed the dormitory and the materials inside.

    The Alaaye of Efon, Oba Emmanuel Aladejare, was at the school for over three hours.

    Parents who had been notified of the fire on phone rushed to the school yesterday to check the conditions of their children and wards.

  • One dead as fire razes building

    A guard, Suleiman Aliyu, 28, was on Saturday burnt to death in Lagos.

    It was learnt that the fire which started around 1:30pm in the guard’s quarters, at 15, Obiwunmi Street, off Fola Agoro, in Shomolu was caused by petrol stored in the place.

    The Nation gathered that the fire spread from the security house to the 12 self-contained apartments in the premises.

    It took the combined efforts of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), the Fire Service and the police to contain the fire.

    LASEMA General Manager Michael Akindele said kegs of petrol were stored in the deceased’s apartment which came in contact with other highly combustible items.

    He said Aliyu’s remains had been handed over to his family for burial.

    Akindele advised Lagosians to desist from storing petroleum products and other inflammable materials at home.

  • Fire razes commissioner’s house

    There was a fire at the private residence of the Benue State Commissioner for Land and Survey, John Tondo.

    An eyewitness, Chris Aernan, said an old transformer, which supplies electricity in the area, caught fire and spread to one of the buildings in the commissioner’s compound at New GRA in Makurdi.

    Firefighters from the State Fire Service put out the fire, preventing it from spreading to the main building.

    Tondo said he was in the church when he got a phone call that his house was burning.

    “Before I arrived, firemen had put out the fire but one of the buildings was razed.

    “I don’t suspect any foul play. It was an act of God. This has nothing to do with my political ambition. It was as a result of a problem from public power source, which can happen to anybody.

    “The incident occurred as a result of a spark from the transformer that gutted the bushes around it.

    “I thank God that it did not affect the main building and nobody was hurt,” he said.

  • Multi-million naira goods gone in Anambra as fire razes 150 shops

    IT was all tales of woe yesterday from owners of 150 shops at the electronics section of Ekwulobia Main Market, Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State.

    They lost goods worth more than N500 million to an early morning fire that ravaged their stalls. The cause of the inferno was still unknown last night.

    The fire, which started at midnight, destroyed more than 150 electronics and general wares shops, throwing victims and their patrons in Oko and Umunze into mourning.

    When The Nation visited the scene by 4:30pm yesterday, rescuers were seen battling to retrieve wares and leftovers of electronic appliances from the affected shops. Smoke was billowing from the scene.

    The fire, according to eye witnesses, could have been put out before the havoc, if the Fire Service at Ekwulobia had responded to a distress call.

    Rather than swing into action when they arrived at the scene, the fire fighters allegedly scolded those who called them.

    According to the source, the Divisional Police Office (DPO) at Ekwulobia was forced to alert the Fire Service at Awka, but the damage had been done before the arrival of the fire fighters from the state capital.

    The President-General, Ekwulobia Traders Allied workers Association, Ikechukwu Ezeokeke, and the Chairman of the Electronics section, Frank Timothy, lamented the huge loss incurred by their members.

    They criticised the response of the firemen, saying the inferno was too intense for private tankers and other volunteers to contain.

    One of the victims – John Samuel Chetachukwu – looked hopeless at the scene yesterday.

    He said: “I am a confused person now and I can’t answer your questions. My shop got burnt completely. I was in my house when the youths came to bring me to this place around 4am. When I saw the inferno, I was dumbfounded. Although I lost everything, but I thank everybody, including the DPO Ekwulobia and many others, for rallying round us.

    “I deal in bearings, generators, Dolmar parts, complete engines and the worst is that all of us in this market just restocked our shops before the inferno. I am not ok now and my mind is not settled. But what can I do since I am alive? My neighbour, Edozie Ezeokafor, too went to restock. In fact, all of us here lost all we laboured for many years but there is God……‘’

    Another victim, Kingsley Osedume, said he could not salvage a pin and that his shop was the only source of income for the extended family. He called for help.

    Richard Okoli, who deals in interior decoration, had just restocked with over N600, 000. He lost everything.

    Council chair Titus Anigbogu consoled the traders and promised to table their matter before the state government and Governor Peter Obi.

  • Fire razes Edo Education Ministry

    A mysterious fire yesterday gutted a building at the Edo State Ministry of Education, Iyaro in Benin City.

    The fire was said to have started at about 6am from a section of the building adjacent to the Office of the Commissioner for Higher Education, Washington Osifo.

    More than 10 offices at the upper floor of the building were razed.

    The affected building was said to be housing vital documents, including certificates dating back to the Mid-West Region.

    Scripts of the recently conducted primary school leaving certificate examination were said to have been consumed.

    Eyewitnesses said men of the State Fire Service could not put out the fire because of inadequate water.

    The witnesses said before the firemen returned, the fire had spread to other offices.

    When The Nation visited the scene, workers were seen running around with buckets of water; some were discussing; others were wailing.

    Osifo said sensitive documents that dated back to the 1960s were destroyed.

    He said: “I was called early yesterday morning that there was a fire here.

    “I contacted the Fire Service and we tried to battle the fire. The offices that accommodated sensitive materials that dated back to the Mid-West Region are gone. There is no trace of such documents. That is a disaster.

    “We will not want to make any sweeping statement. The panel of inquiry to be set-up will reveal what happened. We succeeded in stopping the fire from spreading to other places.”

    Governor Adams Oshiomhole said the government will set up a commission of enquiry on the fire.

    He spoke when he visited the ministry yesterday.

    “It seems to me that there might be a case of arson. Somebody must have chosen to destroy some documents for whatever purpose for which we don’t know.

    “If there was no light at the time, then the question of possible electrical fault does not arise and it is possible that somebody had planted something, maybe to burn the place, to destroy some evidence or something.

    “I think the thing to do is to set up a panel to establish what went wrong, at least to prevent a recurrence and to find out those who might be responsible. It is very unfortunate.

    “One lesson we should learn from this is that we should not keep important documents on the last floor of a storey building.”

  • Fire razes Ibadan market

    Fire razes Ibadan market

    Twenty-four shops were yesterday razed at the popular Bola Ige International Market in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

    Goods worth several millions of Naira were lost in the fire, which affected the section where kitchen utensils were being sold.

    It was learnt that the fire started at about 1am.

    This is coming few days after 20 shops were burnt at Ifeleye Market in Ibadan.

    The victims urged the government to come to their aid. The source of the fire is yet to be identified.

    Director of the State Fire Service Oyekunle Kareem said 16 shops were razed and the Deputy Commissioner of Police put the number at three.

    Also yesterday, the Oyo State Government demolished 200 illegal structures at Ogunpa Market in Ibadan.

    The demolition was carried out during the weekly environmental sanitation in markets.

    Commissioner for Environment Lowo Obisesan decried the erection of unapproved structures on water channels.

    He gave traders at the market a seven-day ultimatum to clear the drains or risk the closure of their shops.

    Obisesan said: “The indiscriminate building of structures on the water ways is prohibited. Building without approval and without observing the necessary setback is unlawful.”

    He said the government had made provision for the relocation of traders at Agbeni, Ogunpa, Amunigun and Agbaje markets.

    Chairman of Ibadan North-West Local Government Mr. Wasiu Olatubosun said the traders must conduct their activities in accordance with the law.

  • Fire razes three buildings in Lagos

    Fire is still wrecking havoc across Lagos one week after the Jankara Market inferno in which12 buildings were razed.

    The fire gutted three building on Jones Street, Ebute Metta West, Lagos Mainland, Idowu Taylor Street, Victoria Island and forest at Lekki.

    Fire fighters battled for hours to put out the Lekki fire.

    Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) presidential candidate Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, has commiserate with Governor Babatunde Fashola on the Jankara fire.

    The Ebute Meta fire was said to have been caused by spilled petroleum product.

    The fire, which started 8pm, destroyed the apartment of a new couple, among others.

    An eyewitness said: “The fire started at about 8pm and was escalated by fuel stored in one of the buildings. Properties belonging to occupants of both buildings were destroyed, including those of the newly wedded couple.”

    Director, State Fire Service, Mr. Rasaq Fadipe said no life was lost in the incidents.

    He said: “The fire on the Victoria Island involved a three-bed room, boys’ quarters and has been put out.

    “The cause is not known yet, but no life was lost. The one in Lekki was a bush fire.

    We were unable to put it out because of lack of access to the place. The land is swampy and so we have advised them to go and get a tractor to spread sand and prevent the fire from spreading.

    We have attended to about 10 fire incidents today (yesterday) alone. There was another at 18, Bash Oshibo Street, Magodo, Phase II.

    “Most of the cases were caused by electric sparks. While some of the damages were severe, others were minimal. I want to seize this opportunity to appeal to the public to always switch off electrical appliances before leaving their homes and offices.

    We are in the dry season, coupled with the harmattan and climate change. So, people have to be very careful as very little things can cause inferno.”

    In a letter, Gen. Buhari said he was saddened by the loss of a life and properties in the Jankara fire. “I am writing on behalf of my family and supporters to convey to you our heartfelt grief and sympathy on the terrible fire outbreak at Jankara Market, Idumota.

    “Please convey to the victims and entire people of Lagos State our sympathies for their grievous losses,” he said.

    He urged the Federal Government to ensure “laws of the country concerning importation, manufacture and storage of combustible items” are adhered to, praying that such incidence would not happen again.

  • Fire razes eight shops, six homes in Calabar

    About eight shops and six residential buildings on Nelson Mandela Road by Target Street in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, were yesterday razed.

    Also affected was a law chamber.

    A member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Ifeanyi Uche, almost got electrocuted while helping to put out the fire.

    An eyewitness said the fire started from a beauty salon at about 4:30am.

    It was reportedly caused by a power surge.

    Attempts to forcibly open the shop to curb the fire failed because of its burglary proof door.

    When men of the State Fire Service arrived two hours later and did not have enough water to stop the fire.

    It was learnt that the owners of other shops tried to stop the fire from spreading.

    Uche, who was helping to remove items from the shops, got an electric shock when he touched the iron rod on a door.

    An eyewitness said: “Fire started from the salon and entered the electrical shops. We tried to call the fire service, but there was no response. A driver went to their office, but when they came here, they could not stop the fire. They said water had finished.”

    Chief Onyekachi Agu, whose shop was burnt, said: “I had over N4 million worth of goods in the shop and N110,000 cash.

    “I just came back from the market on Friday. I urge the government to assist me financially. I do not know where to start from. All my grinding and petrol engines and electricity generating sets are burnt. Nothing was salvaged.”

    Mr. Remi Agwuzie, whose law chamber and his wife’s shop were burnt, said: “I got a call that my office and my wife’s shop were burning and rushed down. When I got there, men of the State Fire Service had arrived but could not do much.

    “I was able to retrieve a few files from my office and some goods from my wife’s shop. Some people could not remove a pin. I was lucky that I could save some of my vital documents, especially my school certificates.”

    Director of the State Fire Service Mr. Sylvester Duke said his office was informed of the incident late.

    Duke said and he went to the scene, but the Fire Station at Mary Slessor did not have a fire engine and depended on the Quick Intervention Squad (QIS).

    He said the vehicle the QIS came with developed a fault and he rushed to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), which came to the rescue.

    Director-General of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) Mr. Vincent Aqua, who spoke through the Assistant Director, Mr. David Akate, said 12 persons have been displaced by the fire.

    He said six residential buildings and eight shops were burnt.