Residents of Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State have called on Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to equip the Aba Command of the state Fire Service to enable them to do their job effectively.
The residents lamented that the Aba Command of Abia State Fire Service currently has one fire truck with a capacity of less than 4 thousand gallons of water which they use in covering nine local government councils in Ukwa-Ngwa land.
The residents also urged the Governor to set up more Fire Service Stations in the city as well as equip the firefighters with enough materials needed for the job.
This call came a few hours after property worth millions were destroyed at Emejiaka Street off Ngwa Road Aba by fire from an unknown source.
News Echo learnt that residents battled helplessly as the fire burnt down a multi-purpose building in front of the popular Ahia-Ohuru with multi-million naira worth of goods.
It was learnt that the current fire incident is the ninth one the city of Aba has witnessed between December 2021 to January 2022.
It was also gathered that the men of the Aba Command of the Abia State Fire Service avoided the scene of the incident because of their recent experience in the hands of touts.
A source at the Fire Service Office told News Echo that they went to the Cameroon Barracks Police Station to seek for police protection at the scene of the fire incidents but were denied security.
He said they went to police following a reported open threat by some touts who vowed to deal with them should they show up at the scene.
The source said that when the police refused to follow them to the area knowing the level of insecurity in the area and the hostility expected from some residents they had to return to their office.
He added that the firefighters appeared helpless and knew what to expect from the residents of the Ndiegoro crime-prone area.
“When you hear that you’ll be beaten up in an area full of cultists what do you do? They threatened to kill us according to what we gathered, they said we wasted time. They didn’t even call us. It was one of the reporters on the ground that informed us what was happening and as we were coming, we got information about their threat so we went to Cameroon Barracks Police Station to seek protection and we were turned down,” the source said.
Engr. Fredrick Okenze, a civil engineer based in Aba said that the Abia State government over the years has never taken human lives and property serious, stressing that all they care about is revenue.
“I don’t even think Abia State government know the population of this city. I don’t think they know the number of business outlets in this city. I don’t think they know the number of houses in this city and I don’t think they know how many markets are in Aba.
“If they do, they cannot tell me that one fire service station with less than 20 workers, with one truck situated at the heart of Aba, will cover nine local government areas.
“If they do, they should have established mini fire service stations for Ariaria International Market, Eziukwu Market, Ahia-Ohuru, Asa-Nnentu Market, Uratta Integrated Market and the Eke-Oha Shopping Centre.
“They should have also established branches for the Aba Command of the State Fire Service at Ogbor-Hill, Osisioma and Alaoji axis to make the coverage easier.
“Do you know that the current place where they built the Ariaria Independent Power Projects (IPP) used to be the main Ariaria International Market Fire Service Station?
“What kind of irresponsible government are we having in this state where people are invited to invest and watch their investment burn.
“So, this government and previous ones failed to address the real issues of fire. This city can be burnt down in just two hours if not by the grace of God.”
Pastor Ndukwe Marcel threw blames at Aba residents whom he described as very unreasonable and self-destructive.
He said that how the residents attacked firefighters in 2020 destroying two important fire trucks in the city shows the insensitivity of most residents of the city whom he described as irrational and irritants.
“How can someone be doing all manner of manufacturing at a residential area and a landlord who knows the consequences will just care about the money?
“I learnt the majority of those hoodlums were gathered at Ngwa Road to beat up the Firefighters when the one storey building collapsed not knowing that the firefighters were seeking police protection.
“So, how can we continue to watch hoodlums cause us problems in Aba? Why can’t this government declare serious war against touting and touts?
“They destroyed all the remaining fire trucks in Aba now they want firefighters to use their heads to extinguish the fire.”
When contacted, the Commander, Aba Command of Abia Fire Service, Mr Belenta Belenta said his men went to fight a fire that afternoon at John 3: 16 Church.
He said that their gas finished at that place and because of that they could not go to the fire scene at Ngwa road.
