Fire on Sunday afternoon razed parts of Anambra Supermarket, a popular shopping mall located in the Ikpoba Hill area of Benin City, Edo State, destroying goods worth millions of naira.
The fire, which reportedly started on the first floor of the two-storey building, was suspected to have originated from a fault in one of the solar panels installed on the roof of the structure.
A video of the incident circulating on social media showed residents and passers-by making frantic efforts to contain the flames before personnel of the Edo State Fire Service and the Federal Fire Service arrived at the scene.
An eyewitness, Chukwuemeka Adimorah, who identified himself as a friend of the supermarket owner, said he learnt about the incident while returning from church and immediately contacted the owner’s wife.
“When I was coming from church, I found out that the supermarket was on fire. I called the wife of the owner, but she told me she was already aware and had alerted the fire service. I want to commend the fire service personnel for their efforts. They did a good job,” he said.
Another witness, Lucky Bright, said the prompt intervention of firefighters helped prevent the blaze from consuming the entire building.
“I was also returning from church when I noticed the fire. The response from the fire service was timely and helped to save the supermarket from complete destruction,” he said.
Also speaking, Blessing Aidengbe attributed the incident to a possible fault in one of the solar panels mounted on the building.
“I suspect there was a faulty panel among those installed on the roof because such faults can trigger a fire outbreak,” he said.
Although no casualty was recorded, goods and property worth millions of naira were reportedly destroyed in the inferno.
Efforts to get an official reaction from the Edo State Fire Service were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
