A fire tore through a residential and commercial compound on Azikiwe Street, Mile 2 Diobu in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, in the early hours of Friday, destroying goods and properties worth millions of naira.
According to The PUNCH, the inferno which reportedly started around 3.00 a.m., gutted at least seven large shops and eight rooms in the densely populated building before firefighters from the Rivers State Fire Service eventually brought it under control after about four hours.
At the scene around 8.00 a.m., thick smoke still billowed from parts of the structure as firefighters struggled to access some affected areas within the compound. The facility, which consists of two adjoining sections and about 35 rooms, narrowly escaped total destruction following the deployment of additional fire trucks and personnel.
One of the victims, Wisdom Jack, who runs an ice block machine store, said the fire had wiped out his entire livelihood.
“Everything, including the ice block machines companies gave me to mould, is gone,” he lamented. “I have lost goods worth millions of naira. I don’t know where to start from or who to run to.”
Another affected tenant, identified simply as Chigozie, said he was asleep when he received a distress call and rushed to the scene but could not save anything.
“By the time I got here, the fire had taken over. I couldn’t salvage any of my belongings,” he said. “I lost two buttonhole machines, two weaving machines, three industrial machines and over N1 million cash kept in the shop. But I believe God will make a way.”
Personnel from the Azikiwe Police Division were also present to secure the area and prevent hoodlums from looting salvaged items.
The spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said she was yet to receive full details but confirmed that officers were on ground to support emergency responders.