About 25 persons yesterday sustained various degrees of injury after battling to put out an early morning fire that gutted a residential building in Ogoloma community in Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The Tide gathered that there was panic and confusion in the community as fire fighters were not immediately available to help put out the inferno which started about 5.30am , in spite of frantic efforts by residents to persuade the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Fire Service at the Port Harcourt Refinery.

Although the cause of the fire could not be ascertained immediately, neighbours told The Tide that the fire must have originated from an illegal storage of petroleum products in a residential building owned by a former staff of the Rivers State Ministry of Lands and Housing, Mr Abiye Alalibo.

An eyewitness, who spoke with The Tide disclosed that the building where the illegal fuel storage facility was kept was the only property affected by the inferno, pointing out that many people were injured and rushed to a nearby Ogoloma Health Centre, while helping to put out the fire.

It took the arrival of the Rivers State Fire Service to put out the fire when every attempt to get help from the NPPC failed.

It was also gathered that the incident woke many indigenes of the community who were still asleep, even as they immediately joined in the efforts by the Rivers Fire Service to put out the fire and prevent it from spreading to other areas, with former Transport Minister, Dr Abiye Sekibo’s storey building facing the most risk of a possible spread.

Members of the community who witnessed the fire outbreak, The Tide learnt made frantic calls to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation,(NNPC) to send its fire fighting trucks in order to reduce the level of damage but uptill the time the fire was put out, the calls were not honoured.

Rivers State Information and Communications Commissioner, Mrs Ibim Semenitari expressed surprise that the NNPC could demonstrate such insensitivity to a host community by failing to be of assistance when needed.

She later visited the wounded at the Ogoloma Health Centre and assured them of government support through their moment of pain and anguish.

Mrs Semenitari used the visit to warn residents against storing petroleum products in residential areas to  avoid any re-occurrence.

Vice Chairman of Okrika Local Government Area, Mr Sunday Mbiremieye, who assisted in the movement of the wounded to the Ogoloma Health Centre and other nearby health facilities assured that the council would soon go tough on petroleum product vendors who have chosen to endanger the lives of others with their illicit trade.