No fewer than 255 shops were burnt and
scores of people injured, when the grains
section of the popular Katako Market in Jos,
the Plateau State capital, was Tuesday night gutted by fire, destroying valuables worth
millions of Naira. The cause of the fire was not known, but Mr.
Kabiru Lawal, the Chairman of Grain Traders
Association, said that the inferno resulted from
a power surge. He said: “The fire started immediately power
was restored. The voltage was extremely high
and this resulted into flames from some
machines in some shops.”
Lawal said that most of those injured were
visitors who volunteered to put out the fire. He said: “I was particularly happy that the
volunteers were people who had no particular
stake in the market. Their total commitment
was just amazing.” The chairman appealed to PlateauState
government to assist the traders, some of
whom he said lost everything. “Many have lost everything they laboured for
all their lives,” he added. Mr. Musa Ishaka, a victim, who described the
incident as a “massive disaster,” called on the
government to come to their assistance as
they had no one else to turn to. Mrs. Juni Dabin, a represen-tative of the State
Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, who
visited the scene, expressed shock over the
massive destruction and prayed against a
recurrence. She said that SEMA had assessed the damage
and would send a report to the Plateau
Government. She said: “We shall do everything within our
powers to cushion the effect of the disaster.” Eyewitnesses’ accounts Another eyewitness blamed the fire on an
electrical spark after power was restored
around 9.30p.m. The witness said: “There was a spark from an
electric pole after electricity supply was
restored. It dropped on infla-mmable items on
the ground, which ignited the fire adding. “Within seconds of the spark, the whole place
was covered with smoke and then fire.” Another said it took the fire service and
concerned mem-bers of the public several
hours to bring the fire under control. The eyewitness said several residents, that
were attracted by the siren of the fire service
and the blazing fire, which lit up the night,
rallied to contain the fire which was eventually
brought under control at about midnight. Mahmud, a second hand clothing seller, told
Vanguard: “Many residents came out to assist
the fire people because the fire was spreading
rapidly. They helped in getting more water. “The cooperation of the people helped to
ensure that the fire did not spread to other
parts of the market.” Many of the victims were seen going through
the rubble of their shops, yesterday morning,
and lamenting their losses. One of them, Yahaya Mohammad, said he lost
several bags of maize and beans to the fire. He
said he also lost money he had hoped to take
to the bank. The Director of Fire Service in the state, Mr.
Michael Dung, had in a recent interview with
Vanguard, warned the people to be safety-
conscious in view of increased incidents of fire
during the harmattan.
scores of people injured, when the grains
section of the popular Katako Market in Jos,
the Plateau State capital, was Tuesday night gutted by fire, destroying valuables worth
millions of Naira. The cause of the fire was not known, but Mr.
Kabiru Lawal, the Chairman of Grain Traders
Association, said that the inferno resulted from
a power surge. He said: “The fire started immediately power
was restored. The voltage was extremely high
and this resulted into flames from some
machines in some shops.”
Lawal said that most of those injured were
visitors who volunteered to put out the fire. He said: “I was particularly happy that the
volunteers were people who had no particular
stake in the market. Their total commitment
was just amazing.” The chairman appealed to PlateauState
government to assist the traders, some of
whom he said lost everything. “Many have lost everything they laboured for
all their lives,” he added. Mr. Musa Ishaka, a victim, who described the
incident as a “massive disaster,” called on the
government to come to their assistance as
they had no one else to turn to. Mrs. Juni Dabin, a represen-tative of the State
Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, who
visited the scene, expressed shock over the
massive destruction and prayed against a
recurrence. She said that SEMA had assessed the damage
and would send a report to the Plateau
Government. She said: “We shall do everything within our
powers to cushion the effect of the disaster.” Eyewitnesses’ accounts Another eyewitness blamed the fire on an
electrical spark after power was restored
around 9.30p.m. The witness said: “There was a spark from an
electric pole after electricity supply was
restored. It dropped on infla-mmable items on
the ground, which ignited the fire adding. “Within seconds of the spark, the whole place
was covered with smoke and then fire.” Another said it took the fire service and
concerned mem-bers of the public several
hours to bring the fire under control. The eyewitness said several residents, that
were attracted by the siren of the fire service
and the blazing fire, which lit up the night,
rallied to contain the fire which was eventually
brought under control at about midnight. Mahmud, a second hand clothing seller, told
Vanguard: “Many residents came out to assist
the fire people because the fire was spreading
rapidly. They helped in getting more water. “The cooperation of the people helped to
ensure that the fire did not spread to other
parts of the market.” Many of the victims were seen going through
the rubble of their shops, yesterday morning,
and lamenting their losses. One of them, Yahaya Mohammad, said he lost
several bags of maize and beans to the fire. He
said he also lost money he had hoped to take
to the bank. The Director of Fire Service in the state, Mr.
Michael Dung, had in a recent interview with
Vanguard, warned the people to be safety-
conscious in view of increased incidents of fire
during the harmattan.
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