Goods and properties estimated to be worth millions of naira were said to have been destroyed when an early morning fire burnt some shops at Afor Nnobi Market in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, on Wednesday.
it was gathered that a section of the market housing two shops with various items, including clothing and textile materials, was destroyed by the inferno.
The actual cause of the fire had yet to be ascertained as of the time of writing this report, but while some people suspected a power surge, others believed otherwise.
An eyewitness who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the fire emanated from one of the shops with residents seeing thick flames as it spread to others before the men of the state fire service arrived at the scene to put out the fire.
The source said the firefighters battled for several hours to put off the fire and prevented it from escalating to other shops, including other neighbouring structures.
One of the traders, who simply identified himself as Ndubisi, said the fire started at about 7:15 am, while he estimated that traders lost goods worth millions of naira in the fire.
Ndubisi said, “Traders were just preparing to open their various business premises this morning when suddenly we noticed a fire raging from a section of the market. The fire burnt for several hours before the firefighters came to quench it.
“Some traders who had not come to the market were quickly alerted to see if they could salvage any of their goods before the fire escalated further, but somehow, nobody was able to go near it as it raged with fury.
“We observed thick smoke coming out around a section of the shops and we alerted those affected, some of them arrived promptly at the scene, but could not save their goods as the shops were already on fire before the firefighters came.
“The victims could not take anything out of their shops. I can say that goods worth millions of naira were lost to the fire. We can not say what caused the fire, but we pray God comes to their aid.”
The Anambra State Fire Chief, Chukwudi Chiketa, confirmed the development, adding that no life was lost, but two shops were damaged.
Chiketa said, “The Anambra State Fire Service received a distress call at about 07:52 am over a raging fire at the Afor Nnobi market.
“The firemen and fire truck in Nnewi Fire Station were deployed immediately and they turned out to the scene and contained the fire.
“No life was lost, the fire affected about two shops, the result of the fire was a result of a power surge in one of the affected shops.”
He advised the residents to always contact firefighters on time whenever they observed any fire incident, adding that fire kills, but it can be prevented.
He stressed that it was necessary to let the public know that the time of call always determines the time of response.
