Harmattan: Fire Guts Down Goods, Properties Million Naira in Warri

Harmattan: Fire Guts Down Goods, Properties Million Naira  in Warri



Tragedy struck early hours of yesterday when goods and properties running into several millions of naira, were reportedly razed down by fire in the Estate Roundabout area of Warri, Warri South council area of Delta state.

According to sources, the inferno, aided by the harmattan weather, was as a result of an unattended dumpsite fire.

The fire outbreak allegedly started at about 3:30am on Sunday, destroying about 9 shops mostly containing electronic appliances.

iMirror gathered that some shop owners had decided to burn their refuse towards the close of business on Saturday, leaving the dying flames as they closed.

However, the harmattan wind, which had become stronger in Warri metropolis since Thursday, was said to have fanned the residue of fire into a nearby bush, from where it leapt onto the closest of the shops around.

One of the residents of the area and eyewitness, Obinna Okechukwu, said neighbours in the area only woke up midnight to observe the thick fire on the shops, stressing that it was believed to have jumped on the shops from a burning bush nearby.

"We immediately raised an alarm to attract other neighborhood youths and we quickly mobilized ourselves to the spot to see what could be done to salvage whatever we could before the fire fighters would arrive the scene as some persons had already put a call across to them.

"On getting there we realized that the fire was spreading from one shop to the next, so what we did was to go to the next shop that would catch fire and lucky enough for us its a plank building  so we decided to bring it down to curtail further spread.

"The fire had been curtailed before the fire fighters arrived the scene at about 4:10am to put off the fire from the shops that had been severed by the fire," Ikechukwu recounted.