By IHECHINYERE CHIGEMERI-UWOM

Gov. Alex Otti of Abia has announced plans to enforce the compulsory installation of fire extinguishers in buildings in the state as part of measures to prevent devastating fire outbreaks.

Otti disclosed this on Friday, when he paid an unscheduled visit to the scene of fire incident in a two storey residential building, at No. 73, Lagos Street, off Ngwa Road, Aba.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the incident, which occurred on Tuesday night, razed the second floor of the building, destroying property worth millions of Naira and leaving the occupants homeless.

He urged Aba residents to prioritise application of fire safety measures, as such fire tragedies could be averted, if basic firefighting equipment were readily available.

?What we have to learn is that everyone should have fire extinguisher, because it is very important that we take this message to everyone.

?We must have fire extinguishers and we will have to start enforcing it.

?If they had fire extinguishers, the fire could have been contained before it became an inferno,? Otti said.

He expressed concern over the circumstances surrounding the fire outbreak, adding that investigations would be carried out to determine the cause.

The governor directed his Special Adviser on Homeland Security, Mr. Chukwunenye Alajemba, to investigate the reason the officers of the State Fire Service failed to respond to the emergency.

?I am just coming back from Abuja, I was called when the incident occurred, so I said I will come down here directly from the Airport to see things for myself.

?It is quite unfortunate. Investigations will be conducted to determine the cause of the inferno. I need to get a report about the Fire Service officers, why their phones were put off and this whole place burned down completely.

?We spent a lot of money equipping them, buying them vehicles, and in the past, they have responded efficiently, but unfortunately, this time they did not,? he said.

Otti also pledged government?s support for the victims, assuring them that efforts would be made to reduce their losses and secure alternative accommodations.

He expressed gratitude that no live was lost in the incident, noting that while property could be replaced, human lives could not.

Responding, the landlord of the building, Mr Vincent Uzuegbu, said that at about 10.30 p.m., he and his wife were awakened by a loud bang on their door by their tenant, informing them about the fire.

Uzuegbu said that when he came out he saw that fire was increasing, with the help of some individuals they tried to gain entry into the apartment, but could not due to smoke.

He also said that all efforts made to ascertain the source of the fire outbreak and to extinguish the fire proved abortive.

?Some of my neighbours came, we tried to see if we could see where the fire was coming from, but by that, the whole place was not accessible.

?So we got a fire extinguisher, we brought water not knowing that the fire had already entered the ceiling, it was burning up there and the smoke was just circulating down here,? Uzuegbu said.

The landlord said that he was able to move his vehicles out of the garage for safety and attempted to return upstairs, but the ceiling above the staircase collapsed.

?That was the last time I entered my house that night; I just stood there, watching helplessly as my house went up in flames, with all my property burned to ashes.

?I am squatting in my neighbour?s one room and I don?t have any business doing presently.

?This house is like my pension; it?s where I get the little money I use to sustain myself and my family,? he said.

Uzuegbu appealed to the government for support to enable him to regain stability and support his family.

Another victim of the fire incident, Mrs Ugochi Obinna, narrated her harrowing experience, explaining that she went to bed with her children and mother around 9.30 p.m.

Obinna said that she was later awakened by the smell of smoke entering their room.

?After noticing the smoke, I moved round to find its source and discovered that fire was already burning outside, then I woke my mother, but by then, my children had collapsed due to the smoke,? she said.

Obinna said that she struggled to open the door, but it proved difficult until help arrived from neighbours who forced it open, allowing them to escape.

?Everything we owned was lost in that fire. My husband?s business money from his scrap metal trade, important property documents, and all our personal belongings were destroyed,? she lamented.

Obinna said that they were now displaced and have been surviving on donations from kind-hearted individuals.

Her husband, Mr. Obi Obinna, a businessman, said that he was away at the time of the incident, but around 11.00 p.m., he received a distressing call from his wife informing him that their apartment was on fire.

?I called my friend who lives nearby because I was not with my family and by the time I arrived home, the entire apartment was already gone,? Obi said. (NAN)

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