Enugu Residents, Traders Lament As Fire Destroys Building, Coal Camp Mechanic Village

A residential building at No. 1, Nenwe Street, by Mayor bus stop, Awkunanaw, Enugu, was weekend gutted by fire. The cause of the fire was said to be electrical faults. Two blocks of flats in the building were completely burnt, but no death was recorded.

According to a victim, Monday Henry Chukwu, “We were sleeping when it started upstairs, around 2am. I ran to my parlour, and saw that smoke had engulfed everywhere. I woke my kids, and helped them escape through the window. I really don’t know the cause of the fire. I lost everything in my house: cushion, television, refrigerator, all my household gadgets. I am a butcher, so the entire meat I stocked was gone. I lost huge sums of money in cash as well. What was left on me after the inferno was a pair of knickers that I was wearing. In the morning, I discovered that my big generator and my small gas cylinder in the kitchen were safe. I am now helpless. I am currently staying with friends, and my children have been sent to the village until I recover. It is terrible. We are begging for government assistance.”

Another victim, Mrs Emehelu, told our correspondent that, “I lost everything. My clothes, fridges, everything were burnt. Two flats were burnt completely. In whole, there are four flats in that building. The remaining two were not fully consumed. We are happy that nobody died, but I know of my neighbour’s child that sustained burns. He was rushed to hospital, and has recovered.

“The state fire service operatives came. The first set that came was shouting ‘ladder, ladder’, and couldn’t do much. It was the second set that came that saved the situation, although it had gotten worse. It is unfortunate. Two vehicles were affected, but not burnt. One of them had its windscreens destroyed because they were being pushed out of danger. The owners couldn’t trace the keys in the face of the commotion. I really can’t quantify the financial values of what was lost. But I hope succour would come from somewhere by the grace of God.”

Mr Emeka Oko, Enugu State coordinator, Local Emergency Management Committee, while confirming the inferno to THE WHISTLER, advised people ‘to be careful about fire, especially switching off their electronics and electrical appliances before going to bed. They should also avoid by-passing electric power sources, and also alert the state fire service as early as they notice fire incidents. Above, there should be fire extinguishers in every home.”

In another development, goods worth millions of naira were weekend destroyed by fire at the Mechanic Village, Coal Camp, Enugu. The chairman of Coal Camp Spare Parts Dealers’ Union, Uwaezuoke Agbo, told a news medium that the fire gutted some parts of the engine oil section of the market. In his words, “Electric power came around 1am, and it sparked the fire. It started from a shop packed with oil. The security alerted the tenants living at the back of the shop. All of them came out and called the state fire service agency. Before they came, about four shops had been razed. But without them, it would have been terrible. About six shops were completely destroyed.”

One of the shop owners, Ikenna, said, “I lost over N15m to the fire. We beg assistance from government and well-meaning individuals.”