Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
The Executive Secretary of Edo State Emergency Management Agency (Edo SEMA), Jerry Idahosa, has lauded the quick intervention of the firefighters that puts off the fire that razed shops at the popular Oba Market in Benin City and prevented further damage.
He gave the commendation while paying on-the-spot-assessment visit to the scene of the fire incident in Benin.
“I want to also use this minute to appreciate the State Fire Service, the Federal Fire Service and all emergency responders that responded swiftly yesterday and proactively by God’s grace, we were able to prevent the fire from escalating further.
“I received that distress call at about 8:15 p.m. yesterday evening or rather yesterday night. And immediately, we were here not up to 5 minutes. So, that’s why the extent of the damage was not really much.
“So far from the report we’ve gathered is about seven shops that were affected. But we are still going to go inside to carry out an on-the-spot assessment to know the shops that were affected and the numbers of goods that were lost”, Idahosa said.
Mr. Idahosa while lauding the state government for equipping the state fire service with the right equipment, assured the affected shops owners of government’s interventions.
“I need to appreciate what the government of the day and the policies it has put in place to ensure our emergency response are up to date and with the right equipment to combat this kind of fire disaster.
“So when it comes to intervention, definitely after our assessment, we’ll be able to reach out to this concerned victims of this fire disaster and necessary provisions will be made to them to cushion the effect of this disaster”, Idahosa added.