Fire Guts House In Enugu

Property worth millions of naira were destroyed when fire gutted a bungalow at No 17 Church Road, Asata in Enugu State capital.
The fire that lasted for an hour in Enugu on Wednesday was quenched by a team of fire service men after some spirited efforts from the neighbours.
The fire service men exhausted two of their water tankers but the quick intervention to the fire scene prevented it from spreading to other buildings.
A federal fire service officer at the scene, Superintendent Paschal Onunze, blamed the extent of damage on positioning of the house.
“Why this thing happened to this extent was that the access to the scene of the fire was difficult but we thank God that we succeeded in quenching it,’’ he said.
He praised the residents for their timely information and expressed joy that the fire was controlled.
“The chain of houses around the building made it difficult for us but we used our expertise to put it out, if not, the fire would have extended to other houses,’’ he said.
Onunze said that the cause of the fire was not yet known but would carry out investigation to know the cause and educate the resident on what to do.
One of the victims, Miss Ijeoma Edmund, said that she did not know the cause of the fire outbreak.
“I was in the house and the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company took the light and later brought it back before I left the house.
“By the time I got back to the house, I saw flames from upstairs. When I got close, I discovered that it was in our neighbour’s room that the smoke was coming from and I alerted other neighbours’ for help.
“No life was lost but property were burnt to ashes more especially our own room,’’ Edmund said.
A shop owner in front of the building, Mr Sylvester Okwor said that he was informed of the fire outbreak by his son and he rushed t o assist in quenching the fire.
Okwor, who was also a Basketball coach, said that he was going for training at the New Layout Secondary School when he got the information.
The coach commended the fire service for a job well done by responding promptly to the fire incident.
“Thank God that the fire was curtailed from extending to other building so you can see that my shop was saved,’’ Okwor said.