There was pandemonium in Nodu Market, Okpuno area of Anambra State, on Monday, January 23, 2023, after fire razed the Mata Foam Depot.
The incident which happened yesterday evening left multi-million naira worth of goods destroyed.
According to eyewitnesses, the fire emanated from a corner of the factory and started spreading fast because of the combustible nature of materials at the factory.
The fire incident, they said, caused panic around the community because of the several gas refilling shops surrounding the vicinity.
Confirming the fire outbreak in a statement, the Anambra State fire chief, Martin Agbili said the men of the fire service responded immediately to the distress call.
Agbili stated that the firefighting operation was very successful as they were able to stop, control and extinguish the fire to a standstill.
His words: “At about 1739hrs (5.39pm) of 23-01-2023, we received a distress call of a fire outbreak at Mata Foam Depot, Nodu Okpuno.
“Immediately, we deployed our fire truck and our brave firefighters to the fire scene.
“The firefighting operation was very successful as we were able to fight, stop, control and extinguished the fire to stand still.
“We were able to save a lot of mattresses in the depot. We also saved all the surrounding residential homes around the fire scene.
“We want to use this medium to thank the general public who assisted us during the operation and also those that put the call across to us.
“Please note that January and February are the peaks of the harmattan when we usually experience a great number of fire outbreaks.”
The service chief, however, advised members of the public to avoid anything that can cause a fire outbreak.