Shop owners along Roadblock in Jalingo, the capital of Taraba State, are grappling with financial losses after a devastating fire consumed their shops and goods on Saturday morning. The blaze, suspected to have originated from a gas cylinder, swept through businesses along Roadblock in the Jalingo metropolis, causing extensive destruction.
As of the time of this report, shop owners were in the process of salvaging whatever remained of their goods. Despite the efforts of sympathizers attempting to douse the flames, firefighters were notably absent from the scene. Some affected individuals attributed the substantial losses to the delayed arrival of firefighters.
One shop owner lamented that the firefighting team arrived after the destruction had taken place and had to depart hastily due to a lack of adequate equipment to combat the raging inferno. A firefighter, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed, “We lack the necessary firefighting equipment in this state, and our office has been struggling to operate with limited resources.”
Expressing optimism for support from relevant authorities, the firefighter emphasized the urgent need for logistical assistance, stating, “With this development, we hope and pray that the relevant authorities will now deem it fit to come to our support because, in terms of logistics, we are far behind compared to our colleagues in other states.”
To prevent the looting of goods by enraged youths, police operatives have been deployed to the scene