Five minutes after fire broke out in Samsung headquarters, Abuja, the fire service arrived the scene, but people chased them away. It took sustained efforts to ensure no one died.
The FCT Fire Service Spokesman, Ibrahim Tauheed, has confirmed that there was no casualty after fire gutted the popular Samsung Headquarters located near Banex Junction in Wuse 2, Abuja.
Tauheed issued a statement to this effect in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to him, “when fire gutted the building, one Mrs Ngozi, the owner of Mozini Spa, situated behind Furniture House, made a distress call at 7:38 pm.”
Careless Welding Activities
He explained that the fire, which was commercial in nature, engulfed a two-storey building filled with Samsung products.
The spokesman explained further that preliminary investigation into the Samsung building fire indicated that the fire resulted from careless welding activities near a pile of empty, combustible cartons.
He said that Asokoro Fire Station was the first to arrive at the scene at 7:43 p.m. However, they faced hostility from some hoodlums who started pelting their fire truck with stones.
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“So, to ensure the safety of the firefighters and their equipment, the leader of the crew, DSF Ahmed Katsina, directed the driver to take an alternate route to Ahmadu Bello Way and alerted the police control room.
“Upon the arrival of the Nigeria Police personnel, they fired shots in the air and used tear gas to disperse the unruly crowd, allowing firefighters to commence their firefighting efforts, but regrettably, the delay caused the fire to intensify and spread throughout the building.
“Nevertheless, we made concerted efforts to prevent it from spreading to nearby structures and the nearby fuel station.”
He said that many people had expected that the fire would spread to other buildings and the nearby fuel station, but with the combined efforts of multiple stations and agencies, it did not.
