FIRE GUTS PART OF KENYATTA MARKET AS VICTIMS CALL FOR HELP

Property and goods worth millions of naira have been destroyed by fire at Railway Line Section of Kenyatta Market Uwani, Enugu-South Local Government Area of Enugu State.

The Chairman, Foam and Fabrics Section, of Railway-line Kenyatta Market, Mr. Okechukwu Ezeh, said many shops, mattress, foams and  fabrics were lost to the inferno, which started Thursday evening. 

According to Mr. Ezeh, the fire would have engulfed the entire market if not the quick intervention of the Enugu State Fire Service.

He appealed to the State Governor, Chief Ifeanyi Ugwuayi, to come to the assistance of the traders to mitigate the losses. 

Also, the Chairman, Kenyetta Market Traders Association, Mr. Chinwuba Igwesi, said the cause of the fire was been investigated.

Mr. Igwesi explained that when the information reached him, he quickly deployed all the fire fighting equipment given to the market by the State Government to combat the fire before the arrival of the Enugu State Fire Service and the Federal Fire Service.

Addressing journalists, the Chief Fire Officer, Enugu State Fire Service, Mr. Okwudili Ohaa, and his Federal Fire Service counterpart, an Assistant Superintendent of Fire, Mr. Ezekiel Ogwuche, said the fire was a full blown one, but explained that it was brought under control through the combined efforts of both agencies.

The Fire Chiefs appealed to traders to be fire saftey conscious and avoid things that could trigger fire in the markets across the state and always ensure that they installed fire extinguishers in their shops to contain any outbreak.

Our correspondent who witness the fire disaster reports that the entire railway line was burnt completely.

CHRISTIAN NWANGENE