Fire Guts Properties Worth Millions In Rivers

A significant amount of valuable properties were reportedly destroyed in a fire incident that occurred in the early hours of the Sunday in the Rumuola area in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, Naija News reports.

An eyewitness who spoke to journalists about the incident, Obi Duke, observed the fire originating from a Pharmaceutical shop around 5:50 a.m. on Sunday morning and immediately alerted others.

He said: “There was restoration of Power. But the Current was too much, and shortly after that, We noticed the fire at about 5:50 am inside one of the shops, but it had likely started before then. When we tried to put out the fire with buckets of water there were frightening sparks from the fire and we ran away and raised the alarm”

“We called the fire service, but there was no positive response. My boss called the owner of one of the shops, a Pharmacy. when they arrived and tried to open the shop to provide access for those making an effort to put out the fire, they were greeted with massive flames and ran back,” Duke told Vanguard.

In his testimony about the fire incident, the Chairman of the Community Development Committee of Rumuadaolu, Promise Atuzie, told journalists that the CDC was informed of the fire at approximately 5:50 a.m. on Sunday morning and immediately took steps to contact fire service officials for assistance.

He said: “We tried as much as possible to reach Rivers State Fire service and the response we got from them was that they were handicapped, their Vehicles are not working and as such they don’t have what it takes to come to our rescue. We kept making series of calls. Finally shell fire service came and Bori Camp also came but before their arrival the fire had already done the damage.

“The fire started from one shop, but before they arrived, eight shops had been completely Consumed, including about 15 rooms containing residential buildings behind the shops. They arrived at the fire scene around 8:30 am, about two hours after the fire was noticed. I cannot say for sure what the exact Value of goods destroyed is, but I know that they are worth millions of naira.”

Atuzie urged the state government to intervene and help those affected by the fire.

“We are appealing to Rivers state Government to come to our aid to help cushion the effect of this loss. It is a good thing no life was lost. If the Rivers state Fire service has responded when called the damage and loss would not have been this bad. So we are appealing for the support of the Government,” he said.