Fresh fire has razed down 3 buildings accommodating 9 tenants at 17 Umukoro Street off Ekurede Urhobo in Warri, Delta State, Our Correspondent can authoritatively report.
Our Correspondent reports that the inferno which started 6:45pm Friday January 25 destroyed household properties and food items yet to be valued. The fire which reportedly lasted for about 1 hour without any human casualty was put off by fire servicemen from Shell Petroleum Development Company, Western Division, Warri.
According to an eye witness, the fire was allegedly caused by a woman popularly called Mama Dupe.
The woman is said to own a provision shop at the main gate of Federal Government College, Warri.
The witness alleged that the said Mama Dupe left the water she was boiling close to the wall of her plank house on a stove to buy garri with the intent of preparing garri mould (Eba). While the stove was on, she decided to indulge in petty discussion with some persons some distance away, only for her to discover on return that her stove had burst into flames, consuming the whole building.
Our Reporter gathered from reliable sources that on noticing the explosion, Mama Dupe ran to an unknown destination for fear of not being mobbed or accused.
Sources say the fire rapidly spread to the nearest block buildings as a result of electrical connection linking Mama Dupe’s plank house.
But for the timely intervention of fire fighters from SPDC, the inferno would have spread to other buildings and cause more damages.