Fire has reportedly razed a section of Miller Waterside in Warri, Delta State.
Details as to what caused the fire outbreak was still sketchy at the time of this report.
Properties worth millions of naira including houses, shops, barges and boats were said to have been destroyed by the raging fire.
Victims were seen counting their losses when our correspondent visited the scene.
Meanwhile, the Warri South Council Chairman, Dr Michael Tidi, has appealed to residents to be extra cautious this dry season to avoid a recurrence.
The council boss made the appeal during an assessment visit to the scene.
While noting that the cause of the fire has not been ascertained, Dr Tidi said investigations are ongoing to unravel the cause of the fire.
He lamented that a lot of property was destroyed in the inferno. He however thanked God that no life was lost.
Dr Tidi sympathized with the victims of the fire incident noting that the council is working with various stakeholders to ensure that a recurrence 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.
“The likely cause of the inferno must be unravelled. So I am using this opportunity to call on the leadership of this area to a 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 that 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 ongoing. 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.”
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