Fire Burnt Properties Worth N8bn In Cross River – Fire Service Confirms

The Cross River State command of the Federal Fire Service (FFS) has disclosed in a statement issued on Thursday how properties worth over N8 billion were lost to fire incidents in the state between January to October.

The incidents were recorded from January to October 26, according to the Commanding Officer, Calabar Command of the FFS, Olumayowa Olomola.

Interacting with newsmen in the state capital today, Olomola said the destruction occurred in 13 fire incidents reported within the same period.

Giving a breakdown of the events, the FFS commanding officer said: “A transformer at the TCN 33 KVA substation line at Adiabo, Calabar, that was gutted by fire in August is put at N2.6 billion.

“We also had the fire incident at Marian fruits market that affected over 13 lock-up shops with goods and also the Airtel Mast near the governor’s office.

“We also responded to two fire incidents at the University of Calabar; another one at a Catholic school, and one mobile base transformer.”

She, however, noted that only one person died from the fire incidents while three persons suffered injuries in the incidents.

Olomola, who said that the command responded swiftly to the incidents, however, noted the challenges of the Service in Cross River.

She particularly noted the high price of diesel and lack of water tankers and ambulances on its stable as hindrances to their efficiency.

“Again, we have challenges of crowd invading the scene of fire incidents which most times, denied us access.

” Most times, some persons in the crowd aim to steal from the fire incident.

“We also have the problem of traffic and travel distance to scene of fire incidents,” Olomola told journalists.