Following the fire outbreak at a petrol station along Nike Lake road by
Penoks Junction, Trans Ekulu, Enugu, on Monday, residents of the area
have commended the administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for the
swift intervention and expertise displayed by officers and men of Enugu
State Fire Service in putting out the fire, without any loss of life.
The
inferno according to eye witnesses was caused by a truck discharging
liquefied gas at the filling station, which lost control and hit the
dispensing nozzle and ignited the fire.
The State Fire
Service upon receiving a distress call rushed to the scene and put out
the fire which affected just the petrol station, a commercial bus, a
transformer, three shops and a residential building, shortly before Gov.
Ugwuanyi, his deputy, Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo, the Speaker of the State
Assembly, Rt. Hon. Edward Ubosi and the State Commissioner of Police,
Mr. Danmallam Mohammed arrived the venue.
Reacting to
the development, excited residents of the area, who cheered the governor
for his presence and show of concern, expressed delight at the
commitment, bravery and professionalism exhibited by the men and
officers of the State Fire Service, stressing that this is the first
time an inferno of such magnitude occurred without any loss of life.
They
applauded Gov. Ugwuanyi for repositioning the State Fire Service by
providing it with sophisticated equipment, experienced personnel and
other necessary logistics to discharge their duties efficiently.
Mr.
Vincent Okonkwo, a near-by shop owner said: “Gburugburu (Ugwuanyi) has
surprised us today. If you were here when this fire started, you will
not believe that these fire men would quench it. We thought that was the
end of everything we have, our shops, houses, vehicles and even the
lives of people around here.
“In short, I saw hell
today. But the way the fire service people worked to stop this fire. We
say thank you to God and our governor and those that quenched it”.
Another
resident, Mrs. Priscilla Udeh said: “We are very grateful to God for
saving us from this danger. We equally thank our governor, Gburugburu,
for sending these people on time to come and stop this dangerous fire.
God is truly with us in this state.
“The governor has
shown us that we are protected in this state because what happened here
now is very serious and dangerous. But as you can see, nobody died. It
is just these shops and that filling station. We sincerely thank God, we
thank our governor too. May God bless him and grant him his heart’s
desire”.
Arriving the scene, Gov. Ugwuanyi, who
expressed profound gratitude to God that no life was lost, commended the
State Fire Service for the efficient and quick intervention, and
equally thanked the people in the neigbourhood for their cooperation.
The
governor maintained that Enugu State is safe, stressing that with the
report that no life was lost, “I am now convinced more than ever before
that Enugu State is truly in the hands of God”.
He
sympathized with the victims and promised to take immediate action to
ameliorate the pains and replace the burnt transformer for the people of
the area to continue to enjoy power supply. The governor therefore,
directed the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to commence action
in that regard.
Earlier, the State Fire Officer, Mr.
Okwudili Oha, disclosed that the fire outbreak was massive, pointing out
that it would have done serious damage if not for the quick
intervention of the State Fire Service.
The Fire Officer
thanked the residents for their support and cooperation and
particularly the governor for equipping and repositioning the
establishment, which he said made the work easy for them.
He
therefore, appealed to the public to take precautionary measures and be
vigilant to avert further fire outbreak in the state, especially in
this period of Harmattan.
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