A section of a popular motor park in Jos, better known as NTA park was on Wednesday night gutted by fire.
The fire which started around 7:30 pm was said to have lasted for several hours before it was eventually put off by men of the fire service.
The chairman of the Motor Park, Maikwudi Ibrahim, told The PUNCH in Jos, on Thursday, that although no life was lost during the fire incident, the outbreak destroyed several properties including shops.
Ibrahim said, “We were there around 7 pm. The fire started in the office of our Financial Secretary and spread to shops around the park.
“The fire was much because it started where tires and forgotten items of passengers were kept and everything was burnt down. The drivers who always sleep in the park were still around, they were able to quickly remove their vehicles and that saved vehicles from being burnt. But the fire spread to shops and razed them.
The chairman blamed the fire incident on a power surge in the affected office where the inferno was ignited.
He said, “The fire was caused by a power surge from the Jos Electricity Company because, while we were still at the park, they restored light and took it again almost immediately. This happened more than ten times. It was when they brought the light for the eleventh time that we saw a spark from the Financial Secretary’s office and before we knew what was happening, the fire was everywhere.”
Our correspondent who visited the NTA park, on Thursday morning, observed that the fire had been put off while traders whose shops were destroyed by the fire were seen lamenting the situation.
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