TheNewsGuru

Tag: Fire

  • Fire burns shanties in Lagos

    Fire burns shanties in Lagos

    The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) says fire gutted some shanties in Surulere area of the state.

    The Permanent Secretary of the agency, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, confirmed this in a statement on Saturday in Lagos.

    “Following distress calls received through  the 767 and 112 emergency toll-free lines at 01.18hrs, LASEMA activated its response team from Onipanu.

    “Upon arrival at 01.31hrs, a row of makeshift shanty structures erected beside the canal, was found to have been gutted by fire.

    “Preliminary investigations revealed that the fire, which started in one of the rooms had quickly spread to other rooms in the row.

    “It was brought under control by the combined efforts of emergency responders at the incident scene. No casualties or injuries were recorded at the incident scene,” he said.

    “The fire has been totally extinguished. Dampening down, search and rescue has been concluded,” he said.

  • BREAKING: Fire razes down shops at popular Cross River market

    BREAKING: Fire razes down shops at popular Cross River market

    Shops at a popular market in Cross Rivers State were on Tuesday razed down by fire, less than two days after the State High Court was in flames.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the market is the Central Market located in Ishibori in Ogoja Local Government Area of the State.

    This would be the second fire incident in three days in Ogoja without any intervention by the Ogoja Fire Service Station.

    At the time of filing this report, the fire was still raging and no presence of State fire Service to curtail the inferno.

    It was gathered that items, including rice, beans, sesame seeds, groundnuts, fish, and other essential commodities, were badly affected by the inferno.

    The cause of the fire remains unknown at this time.

     

    Details shortly…

  • SAD ! Tanker fire reportedly engulfs popular Lagos police station

    SAD ! Tanker fire reportedly engulfs popular Lagos police station

    Tanker fire has engulfed a section of Okokomaiko Police Station, Lagos State Police Command.

    The tanker reportedly caught fire while discharging diesel into the storage tank of a hotel that shares same fence with the police facility, reports Daily Trust.

    The incident created a stampede as both the staff of the hotel and policemen attached to the station fled from their offices for fear of being trapped in the fire.

    It was learnt that the fire started from the engine of the truck and quickly spread to the storage tank of the vehicle.

    Witnesses alleged that the fire spread to the police station before any help could come.

    One witness identified simply as Tolupe stated that the truck driver abandoned the vehicle when the fire escalated and fled.

  • Traders count losses as fire ravages popular Nasarawa market

    Traders count losses as fire ravages popular Nasarawa market

    Traders in Masaka, Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State are counting their losses after a fire incident destroyed the market on Friday at about 10 p.m.

    In separate interviews on Saturday, several traders expressed their devastation and recounted significant losses.

    Mr Ahmed Ayuba, a trader, was overwhelmed with grief as he spoke about his losses

    “I do not know what to do. I am so devastated. All my goods burnt down to ashes, and there is nothing left.

    “I returned from the market yesterday, and people had already paid for some of the goods. Not only have I lost money, but I am also in debt now. The government should come to our aid,” he said.

    Mr John Uche, an electronics dealer, lamented the chaos and theft that accompanied the fire.

    “I lost everything, including the money I kept in my shop. The goods in my shop were bought with money I loaned from the bank. People used the opportunity to steal the goods left. It is not a good sight to behold,” he said.

    Mrs Zainab Usman, a tailor and vendor of cold drinks, reported losing goods worth three million naira in the fire.

    “The fire affected my shop, and I lost goods worth millions of naira. I don’t know if I will recover. We want the government to help all of us because we lost goods worth millions,” she said.

    Mrs Victoria Ellas, a foodstuff seller, also appealed for government assistance after losing over five million naira in goods.

    “Everything I sell got burnt. I lost more than five million naira. My husband died last year, and I am just a struggling widow. Now this has happened,” she said.

    Mrs Ifeoma Eze, another trader, described the helplessness she felt witnessing the destruction.

    “We were called at night, and by the time we got here, the whole place was already on fire. We could see our goods burn, but there was nothing we could do.

    “I couldn’t even get anything from my shop. What do I do now? How do I take care of myself and my children?

    “This incident has left many of us helpless, and some are currently in the hospital due to the shock. We need help, and we need it fast,” she appealed.

  • Fire guts shops in Onitsha on Christmas day

    Fire guts shops in Onitsha on Christmas day

    An early morning fire on Wednesday , gutted some shops near the General Post Office at Ibokwu Street, by Old Market Road, Onitsha, the commercial city of Anambra. The inferno destroyed goods and property, including equipment worth millions of naira.

    Mrs Chidimma Ike, an eyewitness and a house owner in one of the affected houses, said the fire emanated from one of the shops. She said that  residents saw  the  thick flames as it spread to other shops before they mobilised alongside passers-by to put off the fire and rescue goods in the shops.

    Ike said that in spite of several calls to the state fire service, no fire fighter came to the scene, adding that residents and passers-by battled to quench it and prevented it from escalating to other neighbouring structures.

    According to her, the fire started from one of the shops early in the morning. She said that people suddenly observed thick smoke, and before they knew what was going on, the fire started raging.

    “Most of the traders and shop owners did not come for business today as they were at home for Christmas. As the fire raged,  several calls were made to the fire service but it was residents and passers-by that mobilised to rescue goods  and battle  the fire for several hours,” she said.

    One of the affected shop owners, Mr Chinedu Nnamdi, who is  also resident in the area,  said he saw smoke from far and thought somebody was burning some wastes because the shops were closed for the  Christmas celebration.

    Nnamdi said he was not aware that the smoke  was from the fire that engulfed their shops, until he received a call from  his neighbours on the incident.

    The Anambra State Fire Chief, Mr Chukwudi Chiketa, did not respond to calls  as of the time of filing this report.

  • SAD: Husband, wife, grandson killed in Ibadan tragic fire incident

    SAD: Husband, wife, grandson killed in Ibadan tragic fire incident

    A fire incident has claimed the lives of a husband, his wife and their grandson which affected a storey building at Ori-Eru, Idikan area of Ibadan. The fire incident occurred in the early hours of Friday.

    Mr Yemi Akinyinka, General Manager Oyo State Fire Services Agency, made this known in a statement made available to newsmen on Friday in Ibadan.

    Akinyinka said the personnel of the agency received a distress call about the incident through a call made by one Hassan at exactly 3:46 a.m on Friday and immediately deployed personnel to the scene.

    “On arrival we met an upper floor of a residential storey building of six rooms well alight and we swiftly swung into action and the fire was completely extinguished,” he said.

    The general manager said three persons made up of a husband,his wife and their grandson lost their lives in the fire incident while five persons were rescued alive from the building.

    According to him, the ground floor of the building and other nearby properties  were saved from the inferno.

    “From our investigation we discovered that in their attempt to keep their house warm because of the cold weather they resulted to use naked fire which result to fire disaster after they had slept off,” he said.

    Akinyinka said that a team of Police men led by CSP Olaniyan Jibola from Mapo Division and that of Amotekun led by Mr Gbenga Akinyemi from North West Division were on ground to prevent break down of law and order.

  • Firefighters quench inferno in Enugu timber market

    Firefighters quench inferno in Enugu timber market

    The officers and men of the Enugu State and the Federal Fire Services on Saturday extinguished inferno at a section of the Modern Timber Market in the state capital.

    The fire, which cause has not been ascertained, started at about 6p.m. on Saturday. The Director of the Enugu State Fire Service, Mr Okwudiri Ohaa, who is also the state’s Chief Fire Officer, told NAN that there was no loss of life in the incident.

    He said that it took the quick intervention of the state fire station in the market to start battling the fire while calling for assistance from the federal fire service headquarters.

    “Four other fire trucks and a water tanker as well as assist from officers and men of the Federal Fire Service worked to put the inferno under control.

    “Before arriving, due to the way stalls are built in the market; a stretch of a line in the market had been badly affected by the inferno.

    “We were able to extinguish it and we are also on ground now to ensure that no remnant of the fire will resurface. We sincerely thank the Federal Fire Service for assisting us put off the fire and forestall further damage,” he said.

    Due to numerous fire incidences in the market, the state government established a fire service station in the market.

  • Vigil gone awry as fire traps worshippers in Ibadan church

    Vigil gone awry as fire traps worshippers in Ibadan church

    Fire has engulfed a parish of the Christ Apostolic Church in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Friday night, reportedly trapping several worshippers inside.

    According to sources the incident occurred at about 9:30 pm at Wisdom Estate, Road 1G, Olohunda Road, in the Lagelu Local Government Area on Saturday morning.

    It was revealed that the church was hosting a Friday vigil when the fire broke out.

    The incident happened in the night around 9:30pm. I think they were having Friday vigil. Some worshippers had already slept off, to have some rest before they start vigil when the incident happened.”

    Another source described the harrowing scene, saying “There was an aged woman, very old to the extent that she could not walk properly. She was still inside the church when the fire was raging seriously.”

    A church member, who requested anonymity, said, “People were still inside the church during the fire . I will get back to you later, please.”

    As of the time of reporting, the exact cause of the fire remains unclear.

    Confirming the incident, the General Manager of Oyo State Fire Services, Akinyemi Akinyinka, said, “Our men were there based on information from one Kunle Junaid.”

    He promised to provide further updates.

  • Tragedy as husband, wife die in strange fire accident in Kano

    Tragedy as husband, wife die in strange fire accident in Kano

    The Kano State Fire Service has confirmed the death of a husband and wife in a midnight inferno at Rangaza (Inken) Layin AU, Ungogo Local Government Area.

    The service named the victims as 67 year-old man, Muhammed Uba, and his wife, 52 year-old Fatima Uba .

    The Director of Kano State Fire Service, Hassan Muhammad disclosed this in a statement issued by the Public Relations Officer of the Service, Saminu Abdullahi on Friday in Kano.

    Muhammad explained that the incident occurred 12 midnight on Thursday, Dec. 12.

    According to him, “We received a distress call at about 01:45 a.m. from one of our staff, Ahmad Abubakar and immediately sent our rescue team to the scene at about 01:51 a.m,” he said.

    Muhammad said it is a bungalow  of about 50 by 25 feet used as a dwelling house, two rooms engulfed by the fire and were completely well alight.

    He said that the victims were trapped by the smoke from the fire but were rescued unconscious with burns in some parts of their bodies.

    He said that their corpses were handed over to the Ward head of Rangaza in Ungogo Local Government Area, Muhammad Rayyanu.

    “The cause of the fire is under investigation,’’ he said.

    The spokesman however, advised the general public to comply with safety regulations to avoid unforeseen circumstances.

  • Dry season: NEMA warns Nigerians on fire incidents

    Dry season: NEMA warns Nigerians on fire incidents

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has warned Nigerians to be vigilant and take necessary precautions to prevent fire incidents, particularly during the dry season.

    The NEMA Territorial Coordinator in Kano, Dr Nura Abdullahi, gave the warning while speaking at a public awareness campaign against fire outbreak prevention in Kano on Thursday.

    Abdullahi cautioned that fire incidents posed a serious threat to lives, property, and livelihoods, particularly during dry season when the risks were on the rise.

    The awareness is with the theme: “Fire Prevention and Tanker Accident Response.”

    He urged residents to be careful in handling inflammable to avoid fire outbreaks, especially in various accidents involving heavy duty vehicles during dry weather conditions.
    “Over the years, frequency and severity of fire outbreaks, tanker-related accidents have become increasingly worrisome.

    “These incidents not only disrupt economic and social activities, but also cause devastating losses that are often avoidable through proper preparedness and sensitisation.

    “It is our responsibility to prioritise, strengthen response capabilities to mitigate risks.

    “We will collaborate with stakeholders and volunteers, such as Grassroots Emergency Management Volunteers (GEMV) to build resilient society that is better prepared to handle disasters,” he said.

    He added that delays or inaction in emergency situations often worsened outcomes, hence urging corps members to enlighten community at the grassroots with Kano State model of preparedness and safety.

    Also, Umar Abdullahi, Safety and Environmental Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Depot, Hotoro, described the training as timely, particularly to prevent accident, loss of lives and properties.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NEMA carried the sensitisation to the NNPC Depot, Hotoro, to enlighten truck drivers on measures to prevent fire disaster.

    The training was attended by the Executive Secretary, Kano State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Isyaku Kubarachi and representatives from Federal and State Fire Services.

    Others are, Nigeria Red Cross, the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC), among other stakeholders.

    Papers were however, presented by the State Controller, Federal Fire Service, Mr Kazeem Sholadoye titled: “The role of stakeholders in management of tanker accident and fire outbreaks” and the Nigeria Red Cross Executive Secretary, Musa Abdullahi titled: “Management of burns and volunteerism”.