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Morning Fire Destroys Shops, Property Worth Millions In Port Harcourt.
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Victims lose goods, machines, and cash worth millions of naira.
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Firefighters battle blaze for hours; police secure property.
A fire outbreak in the early hours of Friday destroyed goods and property worth millions of naira at 57 Azikiwe Street, Mile 2 Diobu, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the incident occurred around 3am in the densely populated neighbourhood, and the cause of the blaze had not been determined at the time of filing this report.
When visited at about 8am, the fire was still raging, consuming several rooms and shops within a large compound. Firefighters from the Rivers State Fire Service were on the scene, but parts of the building proved difficult to access.
About seven large shops and eight rooms were destroyed, including a liquor warehouse that lost more than 50 crates of beer. The compound, which has two sections and about 35 rooms in total, narrowly escaped further damage after additional fire trucks and personnel were deployed.
The flames were eventually brought under control after about four hours, though thick smoke was still seen rising from parts of the building.
One affected shop owner, Wisdom Jack, who runs an ice block machine business, said he lost all his equipment and goods.
“Both the ice block machines, including the ones given to me by companies, have been destroyed as you can see. I don’t have anybody to run to,” he lamented.
Another victim, identified as Chigozie, said he was alerted while asleep but could not save anything from his tailoring shop.
“I had two button hole machines, two weaving machines, three industrial machines and over N1 million cash in my shop. I lost all. But I believe my God will make a way for me,” he said.
Operatives from the Azikiwe Police Division were at the scene to prevent looting and secure salvaged items.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said she was yet to receive a full briefing from the Divisional Police Officer in the area.
