Residents of No. 12 Dim Street in the Diobu area of Port Harcourt Thursday night witnessed the first fire outbreak of the year when the building was razed, destroying properties worth millions of naira.

  The main office of the Nigeria Agip Oil Company and No. 16 Echinda Street, close to Ada George Road also suffered the same fate simultaneously the same night.

  An eye witness said the fire outbreak at No. 12 Dim Street began at about 8.00pm from one of the flats, though the cause was not immediately known.

  The Tide learnt that fire fighters from the Rivers State Fire Service and those of Agip Fire Service arrived the seen but could not bring the inferno under control before it overwhelmed the entire building, though no life was lost in the three incidents.

  According to the source, it took the efforts of youths around the area to put off the fire as the fire fighters who allegedly struggled with their tools complained of lack of water.

  A personnel of the state fire service that spoke to The Tide at the scene on condition of anonymity said “the problem we have is that we don’t have enough fire fighting vehicles and equipment.”

  He stressed the need for the establishment of more fire service stations around Port Harcourt and advised residents of the city to handle all electrical appliances and petroleum products with utmost care.

  A staff of Agip Fire Service told The Tide that night that “as we are here, our base is on fire and we are going there now”.

  The Tide also learnt that while the Rivers State fire Service and Agip were heading to the Agip base, another call was received informing them that No. 16 Echinda Street was also on fire.

  The landlord of No. 12 Dim Street, Chief Godfrey Umesi said he and his family were praying over a meal when they heard sourcing.

  According to him, the fire started from one of the flats in the building and “it did not give an inch to the tenants to remove their properties or cash.”