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The Federal Fire Service (FFS) has that its men were stopped from accessing the scene of Wednesday’s fire incident at Ochanja market in Onitsha, Anambra state by a mob.
Ugo Huan, spokesman of the agency, made this in a statement on Thursday.
“The Federal Fire Service received a call about the fire outbreak around 2 pm,” he said.
“The control room at the headquarters in Abuja immediately turned out its nearest station at Asaba, Delta State, to attend to the fire.
“Our men immediately headed to the scene but it was not possible to contend with the heavy traffic at the Niger head bridge, coupled with the behaviour of an angry mob who pelted stones at them.
“Thus, it was not possible for the firefighters to get to the scene of the fire in such a hostile environment.”
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“The service is always ready to respond to fire outbreaks and other emergencies across the nation,” he said.
“It is worthy to note that similar situations in recent past in Sokoto, Uyo, Minna, Ibadan, Osun and Lagos were prevented from escalating to a major disaster by the Federal Fire Service.
“The case of Ochanja market was an unfortunate one, as one will wonder why individuals will want to attack firefighters that came to help put out the fire that was threatening lives and ravaging property.”