In Edo State, a fire outbreak once again brought about devastation as shops, mainly holding medical equipment, were destroyed in a fierce inferno opposite the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, UBTH.
According to reports from NewsNow, this fire incident occurred less than 36 hours after another fire outbreak at a section of Ekiosa market, impacting around 20 shops and resulting in property loss estimated at one billion naira.
The fire is said to have originated from a shop specialized in hospital and laboratory equipment at around 2 pm before spreading to neighboring shops within the building.
All four shops directly facing the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) were completely engulfed by the flames.
One affected shop owner, Mr. Sunday Madubuko, who runs a boutique, shared that a nearby shop caught fire at approximately 2:45 pm, alerted by a salesgirl.
Describing the harrowing experience, he mentioned, “The salesgirl rushed to my boutique, informing me about the fire in our office, and I realized I didn’t have a fire extinguisher. Soon enough, the fire spread to my boutique.
“I witnessed the fire originating from the laboratory shop and spreading to adjacent stores. The cause of the fire remains unknown to me. The value of my losses in the inferno exceeds N20 million,” he stated.
Various firefighting units, including the Federal Fire Service, Edo State Fire Service, Nigerian Army School of Supply and Transport in Benin, UNIBEN’s Fire Service, and UBTH’s Fire Service, made efforts to extinguish the fire, albeit with challenges.
Asimu Sumaila, the spokesperson for the Federal Fire Service, mentioned that he was yet to receive a comprehensive report from the unit’s operational commander regarding the incident.
He assured journalists that he would provide further details on the fire incident once he obtains all relevant information.
Unfortunately, goods and property worth hundreds of millions of naira were lost to the inferno.