Fire destroys building in Onitsha as residents scamper for safety

Fire outbreak from the second floor of a two storey building situated at no 18 Mbanugo street, Onitsha yesterday destroyed property worth several millions of naira reports www.odogwublog.com.

  

The cause of the fire is however a subject of controversy, as the landlord was pointing accusing fingers in the direction of one of his tenants, while neighbours blame it on power surge from electric current.

According to the landlord, Mr. Achike Chukwura, who lives in the first flat of the second floor of the burnt house, the fire started around ten o'clock from the back flat of the second building before it spread to his flat.

He alleged that one of his tenants set his house on fire because of increase in the house rent and lamented the huge loss he sustained.

A resident of the area who spoke behind the camera said she was in her compound when she heard a sound from the switch at the passage of the second floor immediately electricity was restored and insisted that after the sound, smoke started from there and generated the fire.

Men of the state fire service from Okpoko and Building Materials market Ogidi who were assisted by residents of the area to extinguish the fire.

Another resident of the area, Engineer Tony Okechukwu lamented what he called late arrival of the fire fighters, despite the Governor's efforts at giving them state of the art fire-fighting ambulance and other facilities.