By Elizabeth ADENUGA
SP Ebere Amaraizu, Police Public Relations Officer(PPRO), Enugu State Police Command, on Monday said that no life was lost in the fire incident that occurred at Juhel Filling Station in Enugu Metropolis on Monday.
The PPRO made the disclosure while addressing newsmen in Enugu.
He said that the incident took place in Juhel Petrol Filling Station located at Isuoba Lane off Nike Lake road near Trans Ekuku community in Enugu.
According to him, the inferno which happened between 7: 30 am and 8: am, affected a commercial bus, two tricycles, three shops, a transformer and some parts of a nearby residential building.
“The police operatives and the fire service were on ground to prevent it from escalating as well as to provide security, to avoid activities of hoodlums taking advantage of the situation to wreak havoc.
“The cause of the fire incident is not yet known, just as investigations have commenced into the unfortunate incident. However, no life is lost in the incident,’’ he said.
He reminded members of the public of the need to be fire-safety conscious by avoiding things capable of causing inferno.
According to him residents should promptly call on the fire service on 08036704815 and alert the police command on 08032003702 in case of any fire or criminal incident.
Earlier, the state’s Chief Fire Officer, Mr Okwudili Ohaa, confirmed that no life was lost in the fire incident although the fire outbreak was massive.
Ohaa said that the inferno could have done serious damage if not for the quick intervention of the State Fire Service.
He thanked the residents for their support and cooperation as well as Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for equipping and re-positioning the establishment for quick and competent service delivery.
He appealed to the public to take precautionary measures and be vigilant to avert further fire outbreak in the state, especially in this harmattan.
Mr Vincent Okonkwo, a resident of the area, applauded Gov. Ugwuanyi for re-positioning the state fire service by providing it with sophisticated equipment, experienced personnel and other necessary logistics to discharge their duties efficiently.
Okonkwo, who owns a shop near the scene of the incident, said: “If you were here when this fire started, you would not believe that these fire men would quench it.
“We thought that was the end of everything we have, our shops, houses, vehicles and even the lives of people around here.
“In short, I saw hell today. But for the way the fire service people worked to stop this fire. We say thank you to God and our governor and those that quenched it.’’
Another resident, Mrs Priscilla Udeh, said that she was very grateful to God for saving her neighbourhood from the fire disaster.
According to Udeh, the governor has shown us that we are protected in this state, because what happened here now is very serious and dangerous.
“But as you can see, nobody died. It is just these shops and that filling station. We sincerely thank God, we thank our governor too. May God bless him and grant him his heart’s desires.’’
Ugwuanyi, who later visited the scene, expressed profound gratitude to God that no life was lost, while commending the State Fire Service for the efficient and quick intervention.
The governor equally thanked the people in the neigbourhood for their co-operation.
He maintained that Enugu State is safe, stressing that with the report that no life was lost, “I am now convinced more than ever before that Enugu State is truly in the hands of God’’.
He sympathised with the victims and promised to take immediate action to ameliorate their pains and replace the burnt transformer for the people of the area to continue to enjoy power supply.
The governor further directed the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), to commence action on ways to ameliorate the plight of the victims.
Among dignitaries that visited the scene to sympathise with victims of the incident were; the Deputy Governor of the state, Mrs Cecilia Ezeilo.
Others were the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Chief Edward Ubosi, and the State Commissioner of Police, Mr Mohammed Danmallam.
