Fire has destroyed parts of the Rochas Okorocha Foundation Building on plot 471, Central Business District, Abuja
It was gathered that the FCT Fire Service had to be called in to put out the raging fire, which affected some of the apartments in the building and destroyed property worth thousands of naira
An eyewitness account has it that the fire started at about 11 a.m. when two motorcyclists, standing in front of the affected building, tried to syphon petrol from one of the machines using a hose. It was learnt that the motorcyclists were in the process of syphoning the fuel, when fire suddenly broke out and spread to the building. The motorcycles were burnt in the process. However, a passerby, who claimed to have witnessed the event as it unfolded, explained that the fire broke out in the middle of discussions that was to lead to the sale of diesel to a customer just outside the building.
Meanwhile, another source said the fire that burnt part of the building was from a burning heap of garbage just in front of the building. Similarly, Victor Nwaka, a young man, who said he was a witness to the circumstances leading to the fire outbreak said, “In here they have this crude business that they do but it’s kind of a hazard, because it’s done close to a residential (area) it’s been going on, it’s been okay over the days. “But for today I really don’t know what happened; they were trying to syphon some diesel from one terminal to another.
“Next thing I saw fire outbreak; some people there were trying to syphon and it was close to a machine. “The pump they were using caught fire and it also affected the machines; there was now chaos, the whole place now went ablaze and it affected the building and all that.” Mr. Nwaka said no life was lost in the incident, but said that a lot of property including computers and other electronic equipment were affected. Mr Julius Ngbuluk, the owner of one of the burnt motorcyles, expressed sadness over the incident. Another eye witness, Mikel John, insisted that the fire spread to the building from a burning heap of garbage close to the towering edifice.
“The fire resulted from bush-burning; it started there, then got to the house; it scattered everywhere.’’ A closer look at the said surrounding, however, revealed that there was no heap of garbage that had been amassed, much more, set on fire within the fenced premises.
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Source: Premium Times
