Mid-Day Inferno Claims Two In PH

A mid-day inferno at Perebo Polo, along Rex Lawson Waterfront in Borikiri, Port Harcourt, yesterday, claimed the lives of two persons, a woman and her sister’s little baby.
An eye-witness told The Tide that the fire was caused by  adulterated kerosene otherwise known as ‘kpo-fire’ kerosene.
According to a source, the woman, who deals on the product had bought some quantity, and decided to test it in order to ascertain if it was original ‘kpo-fire’.
Unfortunately, as she lit the matches to test the kerosene in a plastic rubber, it engulfed her before extending to their living apartment.
It was also learnt that the woman, who allegedly lit the matches to test the kerosene had her little baby in the room, and as she ran for her dear life, shouting fire to attract the attention of sympathizers, she left the baby in the room.
However, her elder sister, who came to relax at her residence, after preparing African salad she was to sell later yesterday, observed that the sister’s little baby was in the room which had been engulfed by fire and ran into the room to save the baby, but both of them allegedly suffocated and died in the inferno.
The Tide gathered that the woman who sparked the inferno is now receiving threatment in an undisclosed hospital.
As at the time of filing this report, members of the community, relations and sympathizers were putting their heads together on how to evacuate the deceased.
One of the victims, whose property were lost in the inferno, Otoro Dick, said he was on the road as a taxi driver when his relations called to inform him of what had happened.
According to him, they managed to remove few property before the fire was brought under control by agile youth of the community as they used available water to stop the inferno from spreading throughout the community.
Another eye-witness, Audu Shehu, who also narrated his account of how the incident occurred, disclosed that over 200 apartments were affected by the inferno.
The Vice Chairman of Belema Polo, a neighboring community, Tammy Kiri Iyoyo, told The Tide that they were all involved in order to ensure that proper things were done for the deceased, and also condoled with the victims.
It was gathered that before men of the Rivers State Fire Service could arrive the area, the youth had already put off the fire, while properties worth thousands were lost in the inferno.