BY AMBROSE OLOGIDE
An early morning fire on Friday, September 3, 2025, razed two buildings along the Lower Erejuwa Road by Ope Junction, Warri.
The cause of the inferno, which destroyed goods and properties worth several millions of naira belonging to residents and traders, was not immediately known. However, those who spoke to our correspondent attributed the cause to an electrical bridge.
One of them, Chief Paul Obire, a landlord on Ope Street, and a former football coach of the defunct NNPC Football Club, Warri, said that the fire broke out in one of the affected compounds when power was restored by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) at about 1 a.m. on the fateful day after three days of power outage.
Coach Obire stated that firefighters, whose station is located in the neighbourhood, responded almost immediately, but allegedly complained that their fire truck did not have water to put out the fire.
According to him, the firefighters then left and did not return until the time of this media interaction.
He recalled that in the past, firefighters who faced such challenges reached out to sister fire stations operated by SPDC, NPA, and NNPC, but in this instance, the Delta State Government fire service failed to do so.
Obire opined that fire services are essential and should be efficient to minimise the effects of such fire disasters.
While sympathising with the victims of the fire disaster, Obire frowned at the activities of some unscrupulous persons who looted goods and properties belonging to victims during and after the incident, saying that it reflects the level of hunger and poverty in the country.
However, another resident, who simply identified himself as a cleric, held a different opinion. He observed that the firefighters had problems with the water-pumping mechanism of their truck. The Head of the Delta State Fire Station in Warri, located at nearby Obahor Street off Ogboru Road, who identified himself as M.K. Egbinoba, confirmed this when he told our correspondent that the fire truck developed equipment failure, which made it impossible for them to combat the fire.
He further revealed that he had sent for a mechanic to fix the faulty equipment and had also reported the matter to the headquarters of the fire service in Asaba.
