- Ngozi Onwukwe, Aba
Shocked by the incessant fire outbreaks since the ending of 2021, residents of Aba have called on Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to equip the city’s Command of the Abia state Fire Service properly.
This call came a few hours after property worth millions were destroyed at Emejiaka Street off Ngwa Road Aba by fire from an unknown source.
Aba City Blog learnt that the current fire incident is the ninth one the city of Aba has witnessed between December 2021 to January 2022.
The residents lamented that the Aba Command of Abia State Fire Service currently has one fire truck with a capacity of less than 4 thousand gallons of water which they use in covering nine local government areas.
They also urged the Governor to set up more Fire Service Stations in the city as well as equip the firefighters with enough materials.
Aba City Blog learnt that residents battled helplessly as the fire burnt down a multi-purpose building in front of Ahia-Ohuru with multi-million naira worth of goods.
It was also gathered that the men of the Aba Command of the Abia State Fire Service avoided the scene of the incident because of their recent experience in the hands of touts.
A source at the Fire Service Office told Aba City Blog that they went to the Cameroon Barracks Police Station to seek for police protection at the scene of the fire incidents but were denied security.
He said they went to police following a reported open threat by some touts who vowed to deal with them should they show up at the scene.
The source said that when the police refused to follow them to the area knowing the level of insecurity in the area and the hostility expected from some residents they had to return to their office.
He added that the firefighters appeared helpless and knew what to expect from the residents of the Ndiegoro crime-prone area.
The source also added that prior to them coming to Cameroon Barracks to seek for police support, they were in a fire fighting battle ina burning building around River Layout, Aba.
“When you hear that you’ll be beaten up in an area full of cultists what do you do? They threatened to kill us according to what we gathered, they said we wasted time.
“It was one of the reporters on the ground that told us about the fire and as we were coming, we got information about their threat so we went to Cameroon Barracks Police Station to seek protection and we were turned down,” the source said.
Okenze Fredrick, a civil engineer said that the Abia State government over the years has never taken human lives and property serious, stressing that all they care about is revenue.
“I don’t even think Abia State government know the population of this city. I don’t think they know the number of business outlets in this city. I don’t think they know the number of houses in this city and I don’t think they know how many markets are in Aba.
“If they do, they cannot tell me that one fire service station with less than 20 workers, with one truck situated at the heart of Aba, will cover nine local government areas.
“If they do, they should have established mini fire service stations for Ariaria International Market, Eziukwu Market, Ahia-Ohuru and the Eke-Oha Shopping Centre.
“They should have also established branches for the Aba Command of the State Fire Service at Ogbor-Hill, Osisioma and Alaoji axis to make the coverage easier.
“Do you know that the current place where they built the Ariaria Independent Power Projects used to be the main Ariaria Fire Service Station?
“What kind of irresponsible government are we having in this state where people are invited to invest and watch their investment burn.
“So, this government and previous ones failed to address the real issues of fire. This city can be burnt down in just two hours if not by the grace of God.”
Udensi Ndukwe Marcel blamed Aba residents whom he described as very unreasonable and self-destructive.
He said that how the residents attacked firefighters in 2020 destroying two important fire trucks in the city shows the insensitivity of most residents of the city whom he described as irrational and irritants.
“How can someone be doing all manner of manufacturing at a residential area and a landlord who knows the consequences will just care about the money?
“I learnt the majority of those hoodlums were gathered at Ngwa Road to beat up the Firefighters when the one storey building collapsed not knowing that the firefighters were seeking police protection.
“So, how can we continue to watch hoodlums cause us problems in Aba? They destroyed all the remaining fire trucks in Aba what do they want firefighters to do?
