Fire razes spare-parts market in Warri

A storey building housing several shops in Lower Erejuwa Motor Spare-part Market, Warri, was on Monday razed by fire.

Property including assorted automobile spare-parts, running into hundreds of millions of naira was destroyed in the inferno.

The affected shops owners said no life was lost to the disaster, adding that efforts were being made to salvage the leftover of their goods.

They said the cause of the fire could not be ascertained, as they claimed that there was no electricity as at the time the fire started.

The traders said that the fire was put out by a combined team of Fire Service Officers and residents in the area.

Some of the victims, who recounted their losses, said they lost goods worth between N1 million and N3 million each to the disaster.

The Chairman of the Lower Erejuwa Motor Spare-parts Dealers Association, Donatus Chiaha, confirmed the incident, saying that the incident started at about 3:00 a.m.

Mr. Chiaha said goods destroyed by the fire could be estimated at hundreds of millions, adding that more than fifty shops, belonging to about 200 traders, were razed.

”My personal goods lost to the fire is more than N2 million, but no live was lost.

”I was informed that there was no light as at that time, at least people living around here confirmed it,” he said.

Mr. Chiaha said most of the boys borrowed money from cooperatives in their villages to boost their businesses for the year.

Another victim, Boniface Ozuo, said he lost goods worth over N1 million.

They urged the government to come to their aid.

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