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By Muhammed Ogwu, Lafia
An inferno has razed tailoring shops at the new modern market in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, destroying goods worth millions of naira.
Our correspondent who visited the scene of the incident learnt that the fire started on Thursday night at about 9: 30 and lasted till early hours of Friday.
It was, however, difficult for the personnel of the Nasarawa state fire service before they could put it off the following morning as it was gathered that owing to the heaps of refused dum in and around the market place.
However, our correspondent also observed that the intense heat of the raging inferno repeatedly drove back the firefighters and delayed their efforts in bringing the situation under control.
Narrating his ordeal to our correspondent, Muse Abdullahi whose shops were among those razed down by the fire, said no one could actually figure out the remote caused of the fire out break, disclosing that no fewer than 30 shops were raze down by the inferno.
His words, “The fire outbreak began at about 9:30pm and nobody could figure out the remote cause of the incident.”
According to him, those shops that gutted fire are butchers that were built with woods, nothing that due to the nature of the woods that were used in building the shops the inferno escalated to others shops in the market.
“The 70% of the shops that gutted fire are the 40 new sewing machines that were brought on Thursday morning, including the three shops of my father. And the remaining shops that were involved in the fire incident are shoes and clothes shops respectively ,” he stated.
Abdullahi, however, lamented that if the fire fighters had come to the scene of the on time the inferno would have been brought under control, nothing that their coming was of no use as they came with empty tank in their vehicle.
“We waited for them for over an hour. It was after the damages have been caused they came with water, it was only God that knows where they got the water from and even at that they struggled for several hours in the night to put off the fire but all their to ensure that they brought the situation under control proved abortive.
The fire continued till the following morning of Friday before they finally put off the fire at about 8:am to 9: 15 am,” he expressed deep concern.
While calling on traders in the market to be exstral ordinary careful the way and manner they use their electrical appliances while in the market, warning them that this is harmattan period.
An eye witness, who was at the scence of the ugly incident, told our correspondent that the heaps of refused dum in the market was not a good hygiene to individuals health, nothing that when the entire shops gutted fire it escalated to the dumping site and before they could no what was going on the tailor shops and some shoes shops also gutted with fire contributed lagerly to the destruction of the shops.
He, however, appealed to the state government to as a matter of urgency provide an alternative area where traders in the market could be dumping any kind of refuse so as to avert future occurrence.
Confirming the ugly development to our correspondent, Builder Ombogus-Joshua Director Fire service Nasarawa State, said he got a distress call at about 9: 30 pm in the night that there was a fire outbreak at Lafia modern market, saying that immediately he had to deploy his men to the scene of the incident.
On the number of shops that gutted in the inferno he debunked the number of the shops were not up to 30, but however, did not reveal the exact shops that were razed, stating that investigation into the incident is still ongoing.
He said, “The inferno began at about 9: 30pm on Thursday and continued till the following morning of Friday, leaving properties worth millions of naira destroyed at the Lafia modern market.”
While appealing to the general public, he warned them to be conscious on how they use their generator and others electrical appliances and stop dumping of refuse near their shops to avoid any outbreak of fire and always put off all their electrical appliances after they finish using them.
According to him, no life was lost during the fire incident.
A trader, Haruna Sa’adu Saraju said the fire destroyed his goods worth N5 million and appealed to the state government as well as kind individuals and organisations to come to their aid.
Another victim whose shops were razed by the inferno Muhammad Abubakar-Garba, said the fire gutted his goods worth N5 million, expressing worry that the fire incident has completely shattered his dream.
Our correspondent reports that traders, whose shops were not affected by the fire, were seen removing their goods from the building.
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