Angry mob attacks firemen in Anambra, destroys fire equipment

Men of Anambra State Fire Service last night escaped being lynched when they responded to a distress call over a fire outbreak around New Parts Market, Nkpor, Anambra State.
An angry crowd who believed the Fire fighting outfit should have responded earlier to the inferno had hauled stones and other objects at the firemen who ran for their lives and in the process, damaged firefighting trucks belonging to the state.
It took the intervention of the Police for the crowd to be dispersed and the fire trucks were moved to safety.

The fire had started at about 9:10 pm last night, when a truck overloaded with mattresses hooked on a naked power cable that was disconnected from an electric pole along with new motor spare parts, Nkpor.
Consequently, the truck and a nearby shop got burnt before the fire was put off but no life was lost.

Condemning the attack on his men, the State Fire Chief, Engr Martin Agbili said they received the distress call at about 9.46 pm and immediately deployed their fire trucks and firefighters to the fire scene.

He regretted that as the first fire truck arrived the fire scene, some uninformed persons started throwing stones on the fire truck and firefighters.

“I wonder why people should be this heartless. Firefighters are also humans and they are not the cause of these fire incidents. Instead, they are putting their lives on the line on a constant basis to save lives and property of others. I think they deserve commendation and not vilification. What happened at Nkpor is quite disturbing and calls for a rethink by those involved. In the process, they damaged our Fire trucks and firefighters escaped. Just look at what they did to our Firetruck and later, they will expect firefighters to respond to fire outbreaks,” Agbili said.

The Anambra State Fire Chief who said his agency has been professional in battling the incessant fire outbreaks across the state in recent times, called for support from all well-meaning citizens of the state to make their job seamless.
“I also implore our people to imbibe safety habits especially as the dry season intensifies. We are worried about the spate of fire incidents in the state and we believe our people can do better in protecting their lives and property from these unfortunate incidents. We lose so much in these fires that honestly, could have been avoided, had the people adopted safety habits,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Anambra State Police Command has said it will not condone such behaviour by some misguided elements who attacked firefighters while trying to put off the fire, describing it as unfortunate.

In a statement made available to newsmen today by the State Police Public Relations Officer, Haruna Mohammed, the State Commissioner of Police, CP John Abang urged parents and guardians to caution their children to refrain from indulging in such act or face the full wrath of the law when arrested.
This is not the first time men of the State Fire Service is facing such kind of hostility from the people.

On the 16th of October, 2019 during the Ochanja Fire disaster in the state, men of the Fire service were prevented from moving to the fire scene by an angry mob for arriving the scene rather too late.

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