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From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has condoled with the victims of a fire incident that occurred on Friday at Bay-bridge Road, Yenagoa, the state capital.
Governor Diri, who was represented by his Deputy, Dr Peter Akpe, undertook an inspection visit to the scene of the fire outbreak to ascertain the level of destruction caused by the incident at Baybridge, Kpansia.
The Governor, who led a high-profile delegation of officials of relevant government agencies, including the Comptroller of Federal Fire Service, Mr. Diton Amos, and the Commissioner of Police, Bayelsa State Command, CP Daniel Iyamah, spoke to newsmen after taking an on-the- spot assessment of the affected structures.
Describing the incident as unfortunate, he, however, expressed gratitude to God that no life was lost.
He commended the fire service, the police, and neighbours who responded to the incident, stressing that but for their swift intervention, the situation could have been worse.
Dr Akpe assured that all relevant agencies would take the necessary steps to unravel the cause of the inferno to decipher whether it was an electrical fault or man-made.
He explained that electrical sources to the affected area would remain shut down during the period of the investigation.
His words: “We are here on behalf of His Excellency, the Governor, to show concern over what has happened. This is an emergency. However, we give glory to God that no life was lost and that the level of damage did not get beyond what we are seeing.
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“Let me commend the efforts of the fire service agency and other relevant agencies, and even the neighbours, for their swift intervention; if not, it would have been worse.
“We will take the necessary action to follow up. The Police, SDS, and Comptroller of Fire Services will investigate to ascertain whether the incident was man-made or it was an electrical fault. Meanwhile, electrical sources to this environment will be shut down for now.”
In his remarks, the Commissioner of Police, CP Daniel Iyamah, explained that as soon as the Command was contacted, he deployed his officers to secure the area, stating that “investigation was ongoing to come up with the exact cause of the fire outbreak.”
Director-General, Bayelsa State Emergency Management Agency (BYSEMA), Hon. Walamam Igrubia, expressed sadness over the sudden incident and assured that his agency would take steps to alleviate the plight of the affected persons.
Hon. Igrubia said: l have deployed my officials to get a list of the victims affected and get information about what has been destroyed. We thank God that no life was lost because that is the most important thing. Whatever is lost here, we hope that it will be recovered.”
In their separate accounts, a victim of the fire outbreak, Douye Josephine Yallah, who sustained injuries from the fire, said the incident happened at about 9 a.m., and that property worth millions of naira was destroyed.
Also, another victim, Miss Blessing Sobotie, and an eyewitness, Pastor Ezekiel Oteigbanyon, narrated that they heard a loud sound and saw smoke billowing from the rooftop, and raised an alarm to call the attention of the neighbourhood to the incident.
Miss Sobotie, who described the destruction as massive and devastating, called on the government and other charitable organisations for assistance.
