Following the recent fire outbreak at Karu Market in Abuja, The Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Department, (FEMD), said their lack of access to the market led to the delay in putting out the fire.
The acting Director-General of the department, Mrs Florence Wenegieme, made this known in a statement in Abuja on Friday.
She emphasized that for the fire department personnel and trucks to respond quickly to the fire outbreak and minimize damages, they must have access to the market and both the public and private buildings.
According to her, the fire broke out at 6:30 p.m. and the combined efforts of FEMD, FCT Fire Service, Federal Fire Service, and Julius Berger Fire Service managed to contain it before it spread to any nearby homes.
The Acting DG clarified, however, that an informal market and hamlet behind the new market, rather than the newly constructed Karu Market, were destroyed by the fire
“There are fire stations at two locations in Karu; we have the Karu Fire Station and a fire station and firefighting truck in the new Karu Market under construction.
“Firefighting trucks arrived at the scene of the fire on time but could not get access to the market to put out the fire on time.
“We had to break walls to pass the firefighting water hoses through, to be able to put out the fire,” she said.
She went on to explain that although millions of naira’s worth of products were destroyed, no one died in the fire, and that members of the Nigerian Police, Army, and Civil Defense Corps were also on the scene to manage the crowds.
Wenegieme expressed gratitude to the Federal Capital Development Authority’s Department of Engineering for launching the Julius Berger Fire Service and providing the necessary assistance.
She stated that the cause of the fire is still being looked into.
