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From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Imo State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, has sympathised with victims of fire incident at Uratta Industrial Market, Aba and assured of government’s support to the affected traders.
Fire gutted the timber market, destroying goods worth millions of naira in the early hours of yesterday.
Reports quoted the fire prevention officer, Abia State Fire Service, Chukwuemeka Okezie, as saying the fire which razed about 50 shops at the market, started at about 1am.
Okezie reportedly said no life was lost while his men were able to save several other shops from being razed by fire.
He advised traders in the market to install fire alarm and fire extinguishers, clean their shops off wood dust, dig boreholes in parts of the market to assist them whenever there was fire incident.
The cause of the inferno could not be immediately ascertained, but there were fears it could have started from the hips of sawdust, which had over the period generated heat.
It took the efforts of firefighters from Aba and Umuahia to stop the fire from extending to other shops in the market.
Reacting, the state government said it received the news of the fire incident with shock and urged traders to always take proactive measures.
A statement by the Commissioner for Trade and Investment, John Okiyi Kalu, said Governor Ikpeazu dispatched the executive chairman of Aba North Local Government Area and representatives of Ministry of Trade and Investment to the market to assess the extent of the damage caused by the incident.
The governor further directed all market leaders in the state to take necessary measures to protect the markets from fire outbreaks especially during this harmattan season.
He assured the public that investigations into the remote and immediate causes of the fire incident will commence immediately while those affected will be fully supported so they can recover from the incident as quickly as possible.
While expressing appreciation to God that no life was lost in the inferno, government, in the statement, wishes to thank men of the state fire service, security agents, especially men of the state police command, Uratta Division, and other citizens who fought gallantly to stop the fire from spreading to other buildings and for protecting the goods of traders in other lines in the market.
