Two buildings on the same street in Owerri, Imo State’s capital, were destroyed by fire within a week of each other.
On Saturday and Sunday, the events occurred at 1 and 9 Eke-Ada Street, respectively.
According to the Daily Post, the fire was started by an electrical surge immediately after electricity was restored.
It was also reported that precious properties worth millions of naira were lost in another fire that entirely burned the first floor of the No 1 building on the same street between 12 a.m. and 1 a.m. on Saturday.
Responding to reporters’ questions on Sunday immediately after the emergency operation, Okafor Okorie, Assistant Superintendent of Fire, ASF 1, Federal Fire Service, Owerri, said the agency received distress calls and triggered its response plan.
He said, “On arrival, the Federal Fire Service discovered a storey building engulfed in flames but quickly intervened.”
Okorie stated that the fire at No. 1 Eke-Ada, which was believed to have been caused by an electrical surge, only affected one unit on the first floor.
He said that the Fire Service’s emergency response crew arrived within five minutes and stopped the fire from spreading to neighboring units.
Okorie said that the fire department’s rapid response effectively prevented the fire from spreading to other nearby houses. He went on to say that, thankfully, no one was killed or injured.
The occupants of the said flat were claimed to have lost everything possessions since they had all gone to church for Sunday service before to the fire’s breakout.
When reporters went to No. 1 Eke-Ada Street, the landlord, a pensioner, was claimed to have fainted and was still getting medical treatment in an unidentified hospital, while the other occupants were still in grief.