Fire Disaster In Lafia New Market Destroys 30 Shops, Goods Worth Millions Of Naira
Business owners and traders in the New Modern Market in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, are now counting their losses following the fire incident that razed several tailoring shops, destroying goods worth millions of Naira.
Reports said that the fire, which started on Thursday night at about 9.30pm, lasted till the early hours of Friday, December 6, 2024, while firefighters struggled to prevent it from spreading.
Some affected traders who spoke with newsmen later, regretted that efforts by personnel of the Nasarawa State Fire Service to put out the fire were hindered by refuse heaps dumped indiscriminately around the market.
It was also gathered that the intense heat generated by the raging flames restrained the firefighters and frustrated their efforts to bring the situation under control early enough.
One of the traders, whose shop was among those razed, Musa Abdullahi, said no one could say exactly what cause the fire outbreak.
Abdullahi lamented that over 30 shops were destroyed in the inferno, with about 70 percent of them being tailoring shops that contained new sewing machines, fabrics and other accessories. Abdullahi said: “Forty (40) new sewing machines were delivered on Thursday morning, and they were all destroyed in the fire, alongside three shops belonging to my father.
“Other affected shops include those selling shoes and clothes that were fully stocked for this Yuletide period”.
Confirming the incident, Director of the Nasarawa State Fire Service, Builder Ombogus-Joshua, said his team received a distress call around 9.30pm on Thursday and the firefighters were immediately dispatched to the scene to bring the fire under control.
Ombogus-Joshua however, said that the Service could not immediately come up with the specific figure of the number of shops affected by the fire incident.
He informed that investigations were ongoing to determine not only what caused the fire, but also the extend of damage as well as the number of shops affected.
