Why Muammar Gaddafi Was Not As Bad As Portrayed

 

Goods and property worth millions of naira were destroyed in a devastating gas explosion that occurred in a set of apartments at Awkwuzu Street in the Diobu area of Mile One in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.

 

The explosion was so intense that over 20 occupants of the building at No. 9 Awkwuzu Street were displaced.

 

Eyewitnesses reported that the fire started around 8am when a faulty gas from one of the rooms exploded and quickly spread to the other apartments.

 

One of the affected occupants, Esther, explained that the fire originated from the roof of a woman who had left her cooking gas on and went to the hospital. She further stated that the woman was unaware that the gas regulator was faulty and did not properly turn off the gas before leaving home.

 

Esther recounted the incident in an emotionally laden voice, saying, "Somebody, a woman, unknowingly left her gas on. You know how this camp gas behaves when the regulator is bad. Probably, she turned it off thinking it was off but I think she didn't observe it well.

 

So she took it inside her apartment, locked the door and left for the clinic. Before people could realize, it had burnt and exploded. That was the cause of the fire. Unfortunately, nobody was able to pick anything out of the place. The place was completely razed."

 

Another resident lamented that firefighters did not show up to put out the fire for nearly two hours. He expressed his disappointment, saying, "No fire service came, either from the state or federal. If they came, at least some people would have rescued some valuables or other property." He also mentioned that in addition to personal belongings and buildings, about five shops belonging to traders in front of the building were also consumed by the inferno."

 

When our reporter visited the area, it was observed that earlier, policemen from the Mile One Division were on the ground to ensure that looters did not take advantage of the situation. The fire had attracted sympathizers and onlookers, some of whom were half dressed. Those in the opposite building hurriedly carried valuable property for fear of the fire spreading towards their direction.

 

When contacted, Abdul Alfa, the Commander of the Federal Fire Service in Rivers State, confirmed that he was aware of the incident. However, he expressed regret that their operational vehicles were under maintenance and they were unable to respond to the scene.

 

He sympathized with the affected residents and explained that the federal fire service under his watch always responds to distress calls of this nature, but they were currently handicapped due to the maintenance of their vehicles.

 

Alfa further stated, "Not that we didn't turn up. The problem is that our vehicles are off the road. They are under maintenance. But I tried to call the fire department from some of the companies here in Port Harcourt to see how they can assist. If our vehicles are in order, what are we waiting for? It is our job, and we don't waste time in responding to such distress calls because we know it is an emergency situation."