A yet-to-be-ascertained worth of goods and properties have been destroyed in a fire that occurred at the Kara Quarters Market, along the Atani Road in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State on Sunday night.
The cause of the fire is yet to be officially ascertained as of the time of filing this report, but our correspondent gathered from eyewitnesses that it could be a power surge.
Although there was no loss of life, it was gathered that the fire which started at about 11:05 pm took the intervention of the state fire service team several hours to quench and prevent it from escalating to the nearby church and factory.
Some of the eyewitnesses told our correspondent that the fire started from one of the shops and escalated before the firefighters were called for intervention.
A source who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to speak said, “We suddenly observed that thick smoke was coming out from one of the shops and shortly after, it resulted into fire. We suspect it to be a power surge because it occurred shortly after power was restored in the vicinity.
“A distress call was sent to the firefighters and it took them several efforts and interventions before the fire was put out. Although some shops and properties were burnt in the inferno, some structures including a church and a factory nearby were also saved from being razed by the sudden fire.”
A video from the scene of the fire incident also shows parts of the saved structures and factory, as well as eyewitnesses and traders recounting their losses.
The state fire agency confirmed the incident in a statement on Monday, adding that the distress call was received at about 11:14 pm on Sunday, saying the firefighters, who were deployed fought the fire to a standstill, prevented it from escalating to other nearby structures.
The statement partly read, “As of the time of filing this report, the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, as none of the dwellers could give an account of how the fire started.
“While the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, some property was destroyed during the incident, although there was no loss of life.
“The traders and dwellers were advised to always switch off their electrical appliances when not in use, fix wirings and connections to avoid a power surge, and monitor cooking gas linkages in their homes, to avoid explosion.
“We console those who lost their property during the fire. There was no loss of life, nor injury recorded. The crew returned to the station at about 01:30hrs.”
