•Fire outbreak
Property worth millions of naira has been destroyed in separate fire outbreaks involving a commercial bank, a bookshop and a one-storey commercial building in Awka and Onitsha, Anambra State.
The incidents occurred on Monday and yesterday at Keystone Bank on Port Harcourt Road, Fegge, and a bookshop on Venin Ezeani Street, Awada, both in Onitsha, as well as a commercial building containing 10 shops on Ifite Road, Amaenyi, Awka, reports The Nation.
Confirming the incidents, the Anambra State Fire Chief, Chukwudi Chiketa, said no lives were lost as firefighters successfully contained the fires.
Chiketa attributed the bank fire to a power surge that affected its network equipment, while the fire at the commercial building was suspected to have resulted from an electrical fault, possibly involving an overheated electric iron.
He said the state fire service received a distress call at about 9:08 am on Monday concerning the fire at Keystone Bank.
“The crew on duty immediately mobilised to the scene, where they discovered that the fire had affected only the bank’s network equipment/room,” he said.
Chiketa said the firefighters quickly contained the blaze, preventing it from spreading to other parts of the building and surrounding structures.
He said no casualties were recorded in the incident.
On the fire at the bookshop in Awada, the Fire Chief said the service received a distress call at about 7:35 am and promptly deployed personnel to the scene.
“Fire Service personnel promptly responded to the incident and worked to contain the fire. The cause of the outbreak remains unknown at the time of this report,” he said.
According to him, firefighters remained at the scene until the situation was brought under control before returning to their station at about 1:10 pm.
On the Awka incident, Chiketa said residents reported the fire at about 12:05 pm on Monday.
He said firefighters found that the blaze had affected two shops on the first floor of a one-storey commercial building containing 10 shops.
“The fire affected the roofing materials, portions of the walls and some property stored inside the affected shops,” he said.
Chiketa said the fire was suspected to have been caused by an electrical fault, possibly involving an electric iron that was left plugged in and overheated.
He said firefighters successfully extinguished the fire, secured the scene and withdrew at about 1:05 am.
The Fire Chief urged residents, businesses and property owners to observe basic fire safety measures and avoid leaving electrical appliances unattended.
He also advised residents to report fire emergencies promptly to enable firefighters to respond before the situation escalates.
Chiketa further urged members of the public to remain vigilant and cooperate with firefighters during emergencies to protect lives and property across the state.
