No Fewer Than 13 Buildings and Some Vehicles Have being destroyed as Fire Razes in Onitsha

A fire incident happened on Wednesday night which led to the destruction of a filling station, 15 vehicles and some buildings at the Upper New market Road, Onitsha, Anambra State.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, ASP Nkeiruka Nwode, and the Executive Director of the state Emergency Management Agency, Dr. Paul Odenigbo, confirmed the incident to newsmen in Onitsha, Anambra on Thursday.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Anambra State, ASP Nkeiruka nwode and also the Director of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Dr. Paul Odenigbo, confirmed the incident in Onitsha, Anambra State on Thursday.

Mrs. Nwode said that three suspected hoodlums were arrested last night during the operation to extinguish the fire.

She said, “We only have five houses burnt; we have like 15 vehicles burnt and five Keke NAPEP and I want to thank the Almighty God that there was no life lost.

“We only had some people with injuries who were taken to the hospital as at the time we were here last night.”

Mrs. Nwode said that some shanty houses around, fuelled the fire and advised the people to desist from engaging in activities that heighten disasters.

She said, “I really want to advise the public that they should help the government to help them.

“Some of these shanty houses around; some of these attachments ignited the fire the more.”

On his part, Odenigbo said that the fire service responded promptly, adding that firefighters were called in from Asaba to assist those from Onitsha and Okpoko when they exhausted their water.

He said, “The incident happened about 8 p.m. when the tanker coming from Awka road, Onitsha, was negotiating the DMGS roundabout and lost control inside the Mobil Filling Station.

“One of the fuel dispensers later caught fire which spread down the road, destroying vehicles and buildings.”

According to him, 13 houses, 10 vehicles, three tricycles and three filling stations (Mobil, MRS and Total) were affected.

Meanwhile, an eyewitness said that the fire started at about 8 p.m. when an articulated vehicle laden with fuel, fell inside Mobil filling station by DMGS Roundabout.

The eyewitness said that fuel from the tanker flowed down the road through the drain, spreading the fire.

A victim and Manager of Bencash Investment Nig. Ltd., a company that deals on electronics and furniture, Mrs. Chinelo Onyeuna, said she lost goods worth N100m to the fire.

She said, “We had so many goods worth over N100m. Just look at our plaza, it has been burnt down completely.

“What I am saying is that government should stop all these people operating filling stations near residential buildings.”

Another victim, Mrs. Juana Oboli, from Onitsha, said she lost her residential building which she had laboured for 12 years to build.

Oboli, a public servant with the Nigerian Prison Service, Awka, who disclosed that she is a widow, urged the state government to help her recover from her loss.