Fireman dies, 5 injured as fire razes Onitsha market By NAN

The Anambra Fire Service on Monday lost one of
its staff while fighting the inferno that gutted the
Ochanja Market, Onitsha.
The Acting Director of the service, Mr Innocent
Mbonu, who confirmed the death of the staff,
however, refused to give the name of the
deceased.
Mbonu explained that a storey building in the
market collapsed on two of his staff in an
attempt to stop the fire, adding that one died
instantly while the other was receiving treatment
at a hospital.
“Eive other persons sustained various degrees of
injury while 15 shops, mostly shoe shops, were
razed during the inferno,” he said.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations
Officer in the state, Mr Ali Okechukwu, said that
the cause of the fire could not be ascertained.
“The governor was there. When government
comes out with its report on the cause of the fire,
we shall all know but the place is calm now,”
Okechukwu said.
Reacting, a member of the market’s vigilance
group said that the fire started at about 3 a.m.
from a shop line and extended to other areas.
The security guard, who pleaded anonymity, said
that efforts by the firemen and others to put out
the fire were unsuccessful.
“The fireman met his untimely death when he
climbed a storey building to spray water but
unfortunately for him, the building collapsed and
he was consumed by fire.
“Another official of the fire service broke his leg
and was among the five that sustained various
degrees of injury,” the source said.
An eyewitness further disclosed that a cash of
N1.5 million was recovered in one of the shops
and was handed over to the owner of the shop.
Gov. Willie Obiano of Anambra, who rushed to
the fire scene early in the day, said he would set
up an investigative panel to find the immediate
and remote causes of the fire outbreak.
Obiano said that he would provide a fire-fighting
vehicle and other equipment and urged the
traders to be calm.