FIRE GUTS BUILDING 200 METERS CLOSE TO FIRE SERVICE

It was a tale of woe and frustration for the residents of a storey building next to the African Petroleum, A P, filling station by the Orogodo River when they came back from the farm in the evening after the day’s job, to meet their entire building completely razed down by fire.

The building, a four bedroom flat, was under lock and key when the fire started at about 12.30pm on Thursday, July 30, 2009. From a reliable source (names withheld), it was gathered that the occupants of the building, a middle-aged woman and her four children left the house very early in the morning of that fateful day. The woman took some of the children to the farm; while one of them was said to have gone to school. The source further said that when passers-by noticed smoke emanating from the inner rooftop of the building, they quickly alerted shop owners and residents living close to the house.

While majority of the people were rallying round to put off the fire, others quickly ran to the State Fire Service Station, Agbor unit to inform them about the inferno. It was however a surprise to the gathering when they realized that the fire service, which is located within a distance of about 200 meters away from the scene of the incident, could not reach the place immediately. However the source stated that it was after the house had been completely razed down that the fire service decided to drive down in their vehicle. But the people, angered by the seemingly inaction of the fire fighters, began to throw stones at them, which made the driver not to stop the vehicle, but quickly moved it out of the scene.

As at the time of filing this report it has not been ascertained the cause of the fire incident. Nevertheless, while some persons from among the crowd were speculating that the fire must have started from the kitchen, judging from the area of the house where the fire started; others said that there was an underground connection of electric wire from a nearby house into the building which could have been the cause of the fire incident.