About 80 Shops Razed In Port Harcourt Market Fire

Fire has razed parts of the New Layout Market on
Churchill Road area of Port Harcourt, Rivers State
destroying about 80 shops.
According to a trader, who spoke to Vanguard, the fire
started at 8p.m. on Tuesday night.
Another trader said: “When I got there, I saw people
battling to put out the fire. Some were rescuing their
things. I was helpless because my stall had been
consumed.”
Some of the traders had already closed for the day,
only to receive phone calls that the market was on
fire. They blamed saboteurs for the fire.
The fire incident was not the first at the market in
recent times. According to a resident, Mr. Philip Uzor,
there was a fire incident at the market about two
years ago. He therefore advised the traders to look for
a way out of the reoccurring problem.
Commissioner for Special Duties, Mr. Dickson
Umunakwe said that the state government had set up
a team to look into the cause of the fire and make
recommendations.

Posted by Donatus Joshua at 07:11