CALABAR, CROSS RIVER – In the early hours of Friday, May 30, a devastating fire engulfed over seven shops on Atimbo Road, Calabar Municipality, destroying properties worth more than N100 million.
The fire, which eyewitnesses say started from an electric spark in a laundry shop, consumed everything in its path, yet, miraculously, no lives were lost.
Local residents acted swiftly and selflessly. Neighbors rushed from their beds, banging on doors, shouting warnings, and risking their lives to awaken shop owners.
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One of the affected, Mr. Aniekan Oton, a police officer, was alerted not by a phone call, but by voices calling his name in the night. “Obongowo, come out! Fire has burnt your shop!” they cried.
Truth Live News reports that by the time he arrived, nothing could be salvaged. “I could not pick a pin. Everything is gone,” he said, still shaken.
His wife, Mrs. Ima Oton, who ran a restaurant in one of the shops, stood amidst ashes and debris. Through tears, she pleaded: “My source of income is gone. I need help. Government, please come and help me.”
Despite the tragedy, the humanity on display was powerful. Bags of water were used by neighbors in desperate attempts to douse the flames before they spread.
Burnt tyres, wires, and shattered dreams lay scattered, but so too did the traces of love in action: people helping, not just watching.
No fire service arrived, but ordinary people stood as first responders, bound by nothing but the ethics of love for neighbor.
The victims and community now call for support, not just to rebuild structures, but to restore lives. When fire struck, it was love that responded first.