15 Families Displaced As Fire Destroys N200m Property In Calabar

No fewer than 15 families have been displaced after a fire outbreak on Tuesday night destroyed property worth about N200 million on Ekondo Street, Calabar, Cross River State.

The inferno, which reportedly started in a bedroom at about 10pm, spread to other parts of the building, destroying household belongings, personal documents and other valuables belonging to the occupants.

One of the victims, Mr Anso Anso, an accountant by training, said the fire left the affected families homeless and without basic necessities.

According to him, information from his son and other eyewitnesses indicated that the fire started in a bedroom before spreading to other sections of the building.

“My child ran out and called his mother, shouting, ‘Fire, fire,’” he recounted.

Anso said the cause of the fire remained unclear, although some residents suspected an electrical fault or an electric iron that had been left plugged in.

He lamented that the inferno destroyed his academic certificates, including his First School Leaving Certificate and Bachelor of Science degree certificate in Accounting from the University of Calabar.

He also lost refrigerators, kitchen utensils and about five boxes of clothes he had purchased in preparation for the traditional marriage rites ahead of his wedding.

The victim further expressed concern over the response of the state fire service, alleging that the officials arrived with a fire truck that was not fully equipped and had to rely on community youths to contain the inferno.

Another victim, 72-year-old Mrs Anthonia Iso Archibong, said she collapsed and sustained a head injury while attempting to escape from her smoke-filled bedroom.

Archibong, who retired in 2019 as an Assistant Chief Accountant at the University of Calabar, said the incident brought back painful memories of fleeing her home with her father during the 1966 Nigerian Civil War.

“This is the second time I am running away from the house without anything, just like we ran away with my father during the 1966 civil war,” she said.

The retired accountant, who said she had exhausted her gratuity and was surviving on her modest pension, appealed to the state government and the Director-General of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to assist the affected families.

“I am begging the state government and the state Emergency Management Agency to come and help the 15 families,” she said.

Meanwhile, the traditional ruler of Akai Efa community, Her Highness Henrietta Effa-Akpera, who is currently accommodating more than 20 victims, has appealed to SEMA and the Chairman of Calabar South Local Government Area to urgently provide relief materials and other assistance to the displaced families.

She urged the authorities to intervene to ease the hardship faced by the victims following the destruction of their homes and belongings.