Three children were rescued from a fire that engulfed a storey building on Obi Onuorah Crescent, behind Okowe Plaza in Asaba, the Delta State capital. City Round’s visit to the scene revealed that the roof and two apartments were completely destroyed, with property worth millions of naira lost.

The cause of the fire was still unknown at the time of this report. Mrs. Gloria Sado, a widow and mother of four, tearfully appealed for assistance from the public.

“I returned home around 9 pm on Thursday to find our house on fire. My three children were inside, while one was with me at the market. Thankfully, my children were rescued. I don’t know what caused the fire. The three fire service trucks that arrived didn’t have water, and all our belongings were burned to ashes,” Sado said.

Her neighbor, Mr. Simon Amalimen, a father of two, described how the fire started in one of the apartments. “I was in my apartment when I heard shouting. I saw flames coming from my neighbor’s apartment. We quickly rescued the three children who were asleep inside. The fire then spread to my apartment, but my wife and two children were saved. I escaped with only the shorts I was wearing,” Amalimen added.

He noted that by the time the third fire service truck arrived, the two apartments were already severely damaged due to earlier trucks reporting a shortage of water.

An official from the Delta State Fire Service, who preferred to remain anonymous, confirmed the incident and said that both state and federal fire services eventually managed to extinguish the fire.