A fire outbreak has destroyed several shops and goods worth millions of naira at Eda Plaza, a building materials market opposite Chida Hotel in Jabi, Abuja.
The fire reportedly started in the early hours of Sunday, with an eyewitness saying the alarm was raised around 3am after his brother-in-law, who owns two shops and a packing store at the plaza, received a distress call from a colleague.
The National Public Relations Officer and Head of Corporate Services of the Federal Fire Service, Deputy Controller of Fire Paul Abraham, confirmed the incident.
He said the service received a distress call concerning the Eda Plaza fire at 2:46am.
According to him, the Federal Fire Service, working with the Federal Capital Territory Fire Service, deployed firefighting appliances from its Wuse, Interior Ministry and Garki stations to the scene.
He said a stop message was issued at 10:14am, indicating that the fire had been brought under control.
Abraham added that investigations were ongoing to establish the remote and immediate causes of the incident.
The eyewitness said no life was lost in the fire.
He said, “We were at home this morning, as early as 3 am and my brother-in-law received a call from one of his colleagues here in the plaza that the plaza was on fire. So we had to rush down to this place. On getting here, we discovered that the situation was so bad.”
He said the fire had spread extensively before they arrived, leaving only one of his brother-in-law’s two shops standing.
“In this plaza, my brother-in-law had two shops and a packing store.
Unfortunately, it was just one of the shops that was saved. The other shop and the packing store were totally damaged by the fire,” he said.
The eyewitness estimated the value of roofing materials destroyed at more than N20 million.
“Over here, you see some of the roofs that we still have here. We are talking about a roof that is worth over N20 million lost in this fire,” he said.
He added that some of the roofing materials had only been restocked the previous night.
Despite the financial losses, the eyewitness said the absence of casualties was a major relief.
“In our situation, we give thanks to God that no life was lost in this situation,” he said.
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