FIRE DESTROYS ABUJA BUILDING MATERIALS MARKET, MILLIONS OF NAIRA LOST

Fire Destroys Abuja Building Materials Market, Millions of Naira Lost

A fire outbreak has destroyed several shops and goods worth millions of naira at Eda Plaza, a building materials market in Jabi, Abuja.

The incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday, with the alarm reportedly raised around 3am after a trader received a distress call informing him that the plaza was on fire.

The affected market is located opposite Chida Hotel in Jabi. Footage from the scene showed traders rushing to the plaza in an attempt to rescue their goods and prevent further losses.

An eyewitness said the fire had already spread significantly by the time traders and shop owners arrived at the scene. He disclosed that his brother-in-law, who operated two shops and a packing store at the plaza, lost one of his shops and the entire packing store to the inferno.

According to the eyewitness, roofing materials worth more than ₦20 million were destroyed. Some of the materials had reportedly been restocked only the night before the fire, making the losses particularly painful for the affected trader.

Despite the extent of the destruction, no death was reported in the incident. The eyewitness said the absence of casualties provided some relief amid the significant financial losses suffered by traders.

Emergency responders were called to the scene as the fire continued to spread through parts of the market.

The head of the Julius Berger firefighters' team said his unit received the distress call shortly before 4am and deployed two fire engines, two water tankers and eight firefighters to assist in containing the blaze.

He said firefighters, working alongside personnel from the Federal Fire Service, battled the fire for approximately four hours before successfully bringing the situation under control.

The firefighter also appealed to traders and members of the public to prioritise safety during fire emergencies. He urged people to evacuate burning buildings instead of remaining inside in an attempt to retrieve their belongings.

He further warned against interfering with firefighters while they are carrying out rescue and firefighting operations, stressing that saving lives should take precedence over recovering property.

The exact cause of the fire had not been established as of the time of the report.

The Federal Capital Territory Fire Service had also not provided an official statement on the incident at the time of filing.

The latest fire adds to concerns over recurring outbreaks in Nigerian markets, where large quantities of combustible materials and limited access for emergency responders can make fires difficult to contain.

For the affected traders at Eda Plaza, attention will now turn to assessing the full extent of the losses and determining measures to prevent a similar incident from occurring again.