Reason for delayed response to Karu market fire revealed

The Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Department, FEMD, said lack of access caused a delay in putting out the fire at the Karu Old Market in Abuja on Thursday.

The acting director-general of the department, Mrs Florence Wenegieme, made this disclosure in a statement in Abuja on Friday.

She underscored the need for access to market, public and private buildings by fire service personnel and trucks during fire outbreaks for quick interventions to reduce losses.

According to her, the fire started around 6:30 pm but was brought under control by the combined team of FEMD, FCT Fire Service, Federal Fire Service and Julius Berger Fire Service, adding that the efforts prevented the fire from spreading to surrounding houses.

Wenegieme, however, explained that it was not the new Karu Market currently under construction that was engulfed by the fire, but an informal market and settlement behind the new market.

“There are fire stations at two locations in Karu; we have the Karu Fire Station and a fire station and firefighting truck in the new Karu Market under construction.

“Firefighting trucks arrived at the scene of the fire on time but could not get access to the market to put out the fire on time.

“We had to break walls to pass the firefighting water hoses through, to be able to put out the fire,” she said.

She further stated that goods worth millions of naira were lost, but no life was lost to the fire, stressing that personnel of the Nigeria Police, Nigeria Army and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps were also on ground for crowd control.

Wenegieme thanked the Department of Engineering, Federal Capital Development Authority for activating Julius Berger Fire Service to provide the needed support.

She said that an investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the fire.