FIRE DISASTER: Tidi Appeals To Warri Residents To Be Extremely Cautious

Following a fire accident that destroyed a section of the ever busy and popular Miller Waterside along NPA, Warri, Sunday night, the Chairman of Warri South Council Area, Dr Michael Tidi, has appealed to residents to be extra cautious this dry season to avoid reoccurrence.

The Chairman made this appeal while speaking to newsmen after accessing the level of damage caused by the fire disaster.

He said though the cause of the fire has not been ascertained, investigations are ungoing to unravel the cause of the fire incident.

While lamenting that a lot of property were destroyed in the inferno, the Warri South Council Boss, however thanked God that no life was lost in the inferno.

He sympathized with the victims of the fire accident saying the council is working with various Stakeholders to ensure that a reoccurrence is avoided.

“This is a monumental loss, especially as it concerns the loss of properties. I did not really know the extent of the damage, not until I got here today.

“Seeing these houses, shops, barges and boats completely raised down shows that this is indeed devastating”.

“These people are known for their industry, they come here early in the morning and even at night they are here and the place is bubbling with activities all the time.

“You hardly see any idle hands here. Those of them in the transport industry, they are always conducting themselves in tandem with the law,” Tidi said.

“So for this to have happened to them is a great loss, not just to them alone, but to the Warri South Local Government.

“And of course, I was in touch with His Excellency, the Governor through text message and he is equally devasted just reading about what happened to them.

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“The likely cause of the inferno must be unraveled. So I am using this opportunity to call on the leadership of this area to critical look at what caused this incident. We must get to the root of what caused this fire. This is when we can give appropriate advice to the people.

“I want to use this opportunity to appeal to all residents in Warri South Council to be very cautious during this dry season because any little mistake with fire can lead to a fire outbreak.

“The reason why we are not shedding more tears today is because no life was lost. Every life means a lot to every responsible government. His Excellency would have been more devasted if we had lost somebody to this inferno.

“Just some days ago, we all heard what happened at Ubeji, how a tanker burst into flame. Investigations are still ungoing. But preliminary investigation shows that that fire incident could have been avoided. Though we have not arrived at a final conclusion but we want to appeal to everybody to be extremely cautious this dry season to avoid fire outbreaks,” Tidi added.