Devastating Fire Razes 30 Shops, Destroys Millions in Nasarawa
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 learned that the fire started on Thursday night at about 9:30 PM and lasted until the early hours of Friday.
It was, however, difficult for the personnel of the Nasarawa State Fire Service to extinguish the fire the following morning due to the heaps of refuse in and around the marketplace.
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, Musa Abdullahi, whose shops were among those razed by the fire, said no one could determine the cause of the fire outbreak, disclosing that no fewer than 30 shops were destroyed by the inferno.
His words, “The fire outbreak began at about 9:30 PM and nobody could figure out the cause of the incident.”
According to him, those shops that caught fire were butchers’ shops built with wood. Due to the nature of the wooden structures, the fire escalated to other shops in the market.
“Seventy percent of the shops that caught fire housed the 40 new sewing machines brought in on Thursday morning, including three shops belonging to my father. The remaining affected shops were shoes and clothes shops,” he stated.
Abdullahi lamented that if the firefighters had arrived on time, the inferno could have been controlled. He noted that their arrival was of no use as they came with an empty tank in their vehicle.
“We waited for them for over an hour. After the damage was done, they came with water, though it took several hours in the night to put out the fire. They finally extinguished it by 8:00 to 9:15 AM on Friday,” he expressed deep concern.
He called on traders to be extremely careful with their electrical appliances, especially during the harmattan period.
An eyewitness at the scene told our correspondent that the heaps of refuse in the market were a health hazard. When the shops caught fire, it spread to the dumping site, further escalating the blaze.
He appealed to the state government to urgently provide an alternative area for waste disposal to prevent future occurrences.
Confirming the incident, Builder Ombogus-Joshua, Director of the Nasarawa State Fire Service, said he received a distress call at about 9:30 PM regarding the fire at Lafia modern market and immediately deployed his men to the scene.
He disputed the claim that 30 shops were destroyed but did not reveal the exact number, stating that an investigation is ongoing.
“The inferno began at about 9:30 PM on Thursday and continued till the following morning, leaving properties worth millions of naira destroyed,” he said.
He appealed to the public to be cautious with their electrical appliances and to avoid dumping refuse near shops to prevent fire outbreaks.
According to him, no lives were lost in the incident.
A trader, Haruna Sa’adu Saraju, said the fire destroyed his goods worth N5 million and appealed to the state government and kind individuals and organizations for aid.
Another victim, Muhammad Abubakar-Garba, said the fire destroyed his goods worth N5 million, expressing concern that the incident had completely shattered his dreams.
Our correspondent reports that traders whose shops were not affected were seen removing their goods from the building.
