Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has ordered a full-scale investigation into the circumstances surrounding a fire outbreak that destroyed the upper floor of a two-storey building at No. 73 Lagos Street, Off Ngwa Road, Aba, on Tuesday night. The fire destroyed properties worth millions of naira and left families stranded.
The governor, who paid an unscheduled visit to the site of the incident in Aba South Local Government Area on Friday, described the fire as unfortunate and regrettable, especially as victims lost property worth millions of naira.
During his visit, Governor Otti expressed gratitude that no life was lost in the inferno, and assured victims that the state government would assist them in reducing the impact of the disaster.
He disclosed that his senior special assistant on Homeland Security had been directed to launch an immediate investigation to determine the exact cause of the fire.
“It’s quite unfortunate. The thing is that investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of the inferno. Whether it is a natural occurrence or some sort, one was careless with maybe stove,” Otti stated.
The governor expressed serious concern over reports that fire service officers in Aba were unreachable during the incident, and questioned why their phone numbers were allegedly switched off at the time of the emergency.
“I have directed them to do a thorough investigation to ascertain why the phone numbers of fire service officers was off during the fire outbreak. They are not supposed to put off their phone. It’s really sad that it happened.
“We spent a lot of money to equip them, buying them vehicles. In the past they have responded very quickly efficiently, but unfortunately, this one they didn’t,” he said.
Governor Otti stressed the importance of fire safety and announced that going forward, there would be an enforcement of fire extinguisher ownership across households in the state.
“What we have to learn is that everyone should have fire extinguisher. If you had fire extinguisher, you would have been able to put off the fire,” he added.
Narrating their ordeals, the landlord of the building, Mr. Vincent Uzuegbu and a family and tenant in the building, Mr. Obinna Obi and the wife, said that they were asleep when the fire incidence started.
They said they had gone to sleep on Tuesday night when they heard people shouting. When they opened their door they saw the whole place was covered with smoke and fire, they tried to get something out but could not.
The victims, who could not identify the cause of the fire outbreak, said they lost everything and appealed to the state government to come to their aid.
