Trader loses goods worth N2.5m in fire

A trader at Etim Edem Market, Calabar, Donatus Ugbo, says he lost goods worth more than N2.5 million to the fire that gutted his two shops in the market on Thursday night. Ugbo told the News Agency of Nigeria

(NAN) on Friday in Calabar that the fire was allegedly caused by an apprentice who lit a candle in one of the shops at about 8 p.m.

"When we closed from the shop in the evening, I sent one of my boys to come and pick something in the shop.
"But instead of the boy going straight to pick the item, he decided to light a candle. While he was searching for the item, the candle light strayed to a carton in the shop and began to burn without the boy knowing and it spread to other items," he said.
Ugbo said he made several calls to men of the State Fire Service but they failed to respond citing lack of functional vehicles. "I made several calls to the fire service but they said that their vehicles were not functional.
"But later men of the State Emergency Response Unit came to help us in putting out the fire. Although the fire was later put out, the damage had already been done and I lost goods worth more than N2.5 million, '' he said.
NAN reports that almost all the goods in the two shops were destroyed by fire. An official of the Office of the State Fire Service, Anthony Ofem, said he was not aware of the incident.
"I am not aware of any fire incident or whether calls were made to our office as I was not on duty, '' he said. NAN reports that Etim Edem Market, located within a Motor Park, is an offshoot of the main Watt Market in Calabar metropolis.