Fire on Wednesday razed Centre for Grassroots Community Education and Development office in Gombe.
Eyewitness told PERISCOPE NIGERIA that the incident occured at approximately 4:10 pm at the Non-Governmental Organisation located at Jekadafari, Gombe.
According to an incident form signed by Abubakar Adamu-Alhaji, Monitoring & Evaluation Officer, which was made available to our correspondent the incident led to thick black smoke that engulfed the surrounding area.
Adamu-Alhaji noted that fortunately, all office personnel were successfully evacuated before the fire spread extensively.
He noted that upon discovery of the fire, the Programme Manager promptly contacted the local fire department for assistance, adding that “Local residents also attempted to extinguish the flames, albeit unsuccessfully. Three fire engines arrived at the scene within 15 minutes and commenced firefighting operations.”
On the challenges faced, Adamu-Alhaji disclosed that the rapid spread of the fire was exacerbated by the presence of flammable materials such as laptops, banners, and plastic chairs within the office premises.
“Despite efforts from both local residents and firefighters, containing the fire proved to be challenging,” he added.
The Monitoring and Evaluation Officer stated, “As precautionary measure, nearby shop owners were requested to vacate their premises to prevent potential harm to civilians. After two hours of concerted effort, the firefighters successfully brought the fire under control, mitigating further damage to the property and ensuring the safety of surrounding areas.”
He added, “The timely response of emergency services and effective evacuation procedures played a crucial role in minimising the impact of the fire incident. Moving forward, the organisation will assess and reinforce its fire safety protocols to prevent similar occurrences in the future.”
