Goods and household properties worth several millions of Naira were damaged on Friday morning when an early morning fire razed rows of shops along Mcpherson Road by Ogodo, in Sapele, Delta State.
Traders and property owners in the area were counting their losses, estimated to be in several tens of millions of naira
Numerous sources said the cause of the fire was not immediately known, but it was believed to have started from a nearby compound and gutted several shops.
“We do not know what caused it, but it started from one compound and went through so many shop and others in Mama Thompson Store area,” a source said.
It was gathered that efforts to put out the fire by locals and Good Samaritans were thwarted by electricity, with residents saying they tried to get the Benin Electricity Distribution Company, BEDC, to turn off power supply to enable them move into the arena.
“People are afraid because of fear of electrocution, that was why they were watching helplessly as the fire raged,”
A report by Sapele Amebo said multiple lines of shops were affected and they were all razed to the ground.
At the time of this report, the fire had obliterated shops along with multi-million Naira worth of wares and other properties.
Some of the traders were seen lamenting and appealing to the state government to come to their aides to enable them to rebuild and start their businesses.
