Edith CHUKU
Worried over the repeated cases of fire outbreaks in Cross River State, residents have called on the governor, Sen. Bassey Otu, to as a matter of urgency, commence immediate purchase of fire fighting trucks to tackle the menace.
They made this appeal following the recent explosion of a private petrol and gas filling station at Edibe Edibe Street in Calabar South Local Government Area of the state, which left over 40 persons seriously injured.
Aside the victims who had various degrees of burns and were evacuated to University of Calabar Teaching Hospital UTCH for medical treatment, property worth billions of naira were also destroyed by the fire.
The fire outbreak which happened on Saturday razed the facility identified as Fonex Gas Station down, consumed major sections of the station, including its fuel and gas storage tanks, as well as vehicles parked within the premises.
It was reported that a hose detached causing gas fumes to leak into the surrounding area when a gas attendant attemptes to transfer gas from the storage tank to the service tank.
All attempts to secure the storage tap were unsuccessful, and the attendant had to evacuate immediately, leaving no time for nearby residents to be warned of the leakage.
The area was engulfed in flames, resulting in significant property damage, residents sustained injuries while those with serious burns were transfered to the hospital.
For alleged vehicle issue, fire service was not on ground to assist put out the fire.
Expressing his dismay over the incident, a native, Mr Tom Alims said, “I look forward to that day governor Bassey Otu will just get angry with the repeated cases of fire outbreak in Calabar and other parts of the State and immediately place order for five brand new fire fighting trucks from Innoson Vehicles for use by our trained fire fighters so they’ll be no excuses for the repeated loss of lives and properties due to fire outbreaks in the State.
“This thing is not too difficult to accomplish. Just as SUVs are ordered from Innoson for politicians, fire fighting trucks should also be ticked off the bucket list to balance the situation.”
Alims Revealed that “the trucks being refurbished at the fire station at Mary Slessor seems not to be ready for the work needed to be done.”
He pleaded for Otu’s urgent intervention to tackle incessant fire disaster in the state.
