Traders count loses in Karu market fire

Some traders in Karu market, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), said on Friday they lost goods worth millions in the fire outbreak.

Supreme News reports that the fire incident occurred on Thursday at about 7pm.

Some of the traders who spoke with the newsmen in tears said they don’t know how to manage the fire incident.

One of the affected traders, Alhaji Abdulhadi Abubakar, who is the Chairman of the Karu Traders Association, said he was still trying to recover from the shock.

According to him, the fire was believed to have resulted from a spark of wire from a shop when power was restored.

Abubakar expressed disappointment over the inability of the Fire Service to put out the fire before it escalated to several shops.

“I have seven shops, and everything was razed down by the fire. Not even a pin came out of my shop.

“The Fire Service cannot do much due to a lack of access roads.,” Abubakar said.

Another victim, Mr. Sunny Mba, popularly called 'Sunnytex', who deals indrinks and provisions, said he could not believe that his business, which he had been building for years, could just vanish.

Mba, who sustained serious injuries as a result of the flame, said he was trying to recover goods from his shop.

He faulted the fire service for their inability to respond quickly.

“I sustained a severe burn in my right hand from theflames while trying to recover some goods from my shops.

“The Fire Service and security guards refused people to go inside the market during the fire.

Part of the burnt Karu market

”I think if they had allowed people to go in, probably there will not have been so much damage.

“I have two shops with goods worth over N10 million,” Mba lamented.

Mrs. Gladys James, a trader, expressed gratitude to God for preserving some of her goods.

James said that she was able to remove some of her goods when people were finally allowed to go inside the market.

”I sympathise with traders who lost everything to the fire incident, while praying that God Almighty replenish every loss,” she said.

James said she could not even account for all her recovered goods, as there was also a high rate of theft going on in the market at the time of the incident.

Mrs. Juliet Thomas, a resident of Karu, called on the FCT administration to assist traders that lost all their earnings to the fire incident.

Thomas said her friend offloaded two trailer loads of rice a day before the fire incident.

According to Thomas, herfriend cannot talk at the moment because goods worth over N100 million were destroyed.

However, an official of the Federal Fire Service, Engr. Gregory Eze, Head of Workshop, told NAN that in spite of the fact that there was no access road to the market, his men tried their best.

“Our officials had to jump into the market through the fence when they discovered there was no access road.

“I am conversant with this area because I was once an Area Commander here. We have complained several times, even before now, about access roads in case of any incident.

“Water was never a problem. Our tankers had over 10,000 litres, and help came from both the military and Julius Berger. In fact, there were over 200,000 vehicles, but access roads were a problem.

"Yes, a pipe was used, but the force of water from a distant pipe cannot be compared to the full presence of the truck itself,” Eze said.

Eze, who is also an assistant controller in the service, advised those managing the market to look into the market plan and see how access roads could be created to ensure safety.

NAN reports that efforts to speak with the facility managers of the market proved abortive as their offices were under lock.

There was also an incidence of theft, as a teenager was mercilessly and brutally beaten when seen attempting to steal some goods from the victims.