Fire destroys multi-million naira goods at Banex Plaza, Abuja

Goods worth several millions of naira were, on Monday evening, destroyed when a fire engulfed a major Samsung showroom near a popular shopping mall, Banex Plaza, in Abuja.

Officials of the Federal Fire Service (FFS) said the fire started at the first floor of the two-storey building, and razed the entire building down completely.

Controller General of FFS, Abdulganiyu Jaji, in a statement, yesterday, signed by the Public Relations Officer of the Corps, Abraham Paul, said the fire started at about 7:00p.m., and destroyed goods, such as electronic gadgets, home appliances worth millions of naira.

The CG, who visited the site to inspect the damage, sympathised with the management and staff of Samsung enterprise, urging public buildings to install fire safety equipment for quick intervention and to forestall such accidents.

The CG expressed hope that the aftermath of the ugly incident would awaken safety consciousness in people.

“The timely response, dexterity and professionalism by the men of the Federal Fire Service averted a national disaster which would have resulted from the blazing fire emitted from the Samsung show room, which is closely positioned beside a fuel station,” he said.

The CG stressed the need for first aid fighting gadgets in all public buildings, while taking seriously, the training of public building safety managers being the first respondents.
He emphasised that effort such as this will go a long way in mitigating future occurrence and reduce fire related hazard.

Paul said investigators from the FFS have since moved to the fire scene with a view to unearth the actual and remote causes of the fire, which took almost seven hours to put out.

Meanwhile, an eyewitness, Mr. Donal Eze, who spoke to The Guardian has expressed disappointment over the response time of the fighters.

He lamented that the fire service arrived at the venue way too late to save the burning Samsung showroom despite frantic calls to reach them.
He said: “The fire service came very late. The whole building was already burning when they came, but we thanked God that they were able to put out the fire and stopped it from burning some close-by buildings.

“It is not good enough, it is somehow disappointing. So far, no lives have been reported lost in the inferno.”

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