Fire in Ochanja market

Leadership reports that the inferno which occurred at two
different times, first at around 5.pm on Sunday,
December 6, and another at about 3.am yesterday.
It was reported that the fire killed one person and injured
five others. The fire also razed no fewer than 15 shops in
the market.
Reacting to the sad incident, the state Governor, Willie
Obiano, cancelled the regular Monday state’s Executive
Council meeting and rushed to the scene of the incident in
the morning to ascertain the level of destruction.
Addressing those affected by the tragic incident, the
governor while expressing his sympathy promised to set up
an investigative panel to probe the cause of the inferno in
order to avert a reoccurrence.
Also speaking to newsmen, the state command spokesman,
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mr.
Okechukwu Ali, confirmed the tragedy. He said the
deceased was one of the officials of the State Fire
Service who helped in stopping the fire from spreading.
Ali commended the bravery of the fire servicemen, noting
that if not for their agility, the fire would have escalated
to other parts of the market.
A source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the
fire service men successfully put out the fire when it first
started on Sunday evening. He disclosed that:
“N1.5million was recovered from one of the shops and
handed over to the owner of the shop.”
“The second fire started about 3am yesterday from one
of the shops and extended to about 15 of them despite the
efforts of the fire service men and others who battled to
quench the inferno,” he stated.
The source further hinted that the deceased was an
operative of the Fire Service from Onitsha Main Market
who came to put out the fire.
“He met his untimely death when he climbed a storey
building to spread the water to the inferno from there but
unfortunately for him, the building collapsed and he died
in the process,” the source said.
The eyewitness said another fire service operative broke
one of his legs while four other of his colleagues
sustained various degrees of injuries.
Meanwhile, the cause of the fire could not be ascertained
as at the time of filing this report, but the police
spokesman assured that investigation had commenced to
unravel the cause of the tragic incident.
Onitsha, the commercial city of Anambra state, has been
in the news of late as it would be recalled that few days
ago, the pro-Biafra protest going on in parts of the
country turned bloody after protesters clashed with
officials of the Joint Military Task Force (JTF).
Nine people were reportedly killed and 18 others were
injured.
Just one month ago, the popular Onitsha electronics
international market, the commercial nerve center of
Anambra state, was also gutted by fire on Tuesday,
October 13.
Recently, the mechanic village located in the Agidingbi
axis of Lagos state was gulped by fire, which destroyed
23 vehicles, generators, computers and gas cylinders.
Source :talk of naija