Fire guts N10m power project in Delta
By Samuel Oyadongha & Austin Ogwuda
Yenagoa—Less than eight hours after residents of Amarata and men of the Bayelsa State Fire Service prevented one of the biggest interior décor plazas in Yenagoa from going up in flames, no fewer than 15 shops and other makeshift structures, including a section of a filling station were Monday night razed down at the Shell ramp in the heart of the state capital.

Though no life was lost in the inferno, goods worth hundreds of millions of naira, including a car and a number of motorcycles parked at the ramp were consumed in the  inferno.

The fuel sellers and other traders in the neighbourhood had closed for the day when the incident occurred, which explained why they lost virtually all their goods to the inferno. Attempts by sympathizers and men of the state fire service, who  raced to the scene to contain the inferno were fruitless as they were completely overwhelmed by the raging blaze aided by the harmattan wind.

It was gathered that the fire started from a fuel dump by the waterfront, whose operators sell adulterated fuel mostly to boat drivers, Okada riders and some residents of the capital city.

The waterfront was littered with burnt drums and storage tanks used in selling fuel.

Witnesses told Vanguard, that residents who made spirited attempt to battle the inferno had to run for their lives when the drums and storage tanks started exploding one after the other due to the intensity of the blaze.

The inferno, aided by the gusting wind, it was learnt spread quickly to stores opposite the waterfront and other adjoining makeshift structures.

Not even the arrival of the men of the State Fire Service could salvage the situation as the exploding drums and storage tanks forced the ill_equipped fire fighters to beat a retreat as the entire area went up in huge flame which lit up the skyline in orange colour.

Some hoodlums, it was learnt, under the guise of assisting some of the occupants of the adjoining makeshift apartments carted away some of the valuables of the victims.

One of the affected traders who simply identified himself as John said he could not retrieve anything from his store.
“My brother, I have been reduced to nothing, I only got wind of the fire outbreak from a friend and by the time I rushed down here, the whole place was in flame and there was nothing I could do,” he lamented.

As at the time of filing this report, smoke from the storage fuel tanks by the water front was still bellowing with some of the victims searching through the rubbles to see what they could salvage from what once severed as their stores and homes.

Fire guts N10m power project in Delta

THE National Integrated Power Project, NIPP, equipment valued at over N12million has been gutted by fire in Delta State.
An eye witness told our reporter that the inferno occured when harmattan wind aided fire from a nearby bush to the project site located on Owa-Eke Road in Boji-Boji Owa.

According to a source, “the fire was notice at 12 midnight on Monday.”

Rescue operation was on at press time  as some electricity equipment partially burnt were being salvaged. Reacting to the incident, the Association of  Ika Landlords/Landladies led by its President, Mr.  Onyeamaka called for a full scale investigation in the incident, while blaming government for allegedly neglecting the project since it came on stream.

According to him, “we, of the Ika Landlords/ Landladies Association have   cried out over the neglect of projects both by the state government and the Federal Government in Ika land. We have made several representations of the government but to no avail.”