By Abdulaziz Muhammad Hadejia
A fire outbreak occurred on Saturday evening at a liquefied petroleum gas, LPG, retail outlet on Katagum Road, in Hadejia town, Jigawa State, causing widespread panic among residents.
Our correspondent, Abdulaziz Muhammad Hadejia, confirmed that the accident happened at a gas shop, precisely when a gas delivery truck arrived to offload new supplies.
According to information gathered from the scene, the incident was triggered by cooking awara, bean cake, near the facility. An open flame came into contact with gas, which led to a rapid explosion and subsequent fire outbreak.
As the fire intensified within minutes, hundreds of people gathered at the scene in distress, while others made frantic efforts to salvage goods from nearby shops.
Security personnel and fire service officials promptly arrived at the location to contain the situation and prevent further escalation. They also worked to protect lives and stop the fire from spreading to adjoining shops.
An eyewitness to the incident said, “We heard sounds like bomb blasts” as the gas cylinders exploded one after another. He added that the area was engulfed in thick smoke and fear.
Thankfully, based on preliminary reports, there were no casualties in the accident. This was attributed to the fact that people fled the area immediately after the fire started.
However, the fire caused extensive property damage. The affected shop was completely razed, along with a large quantity of gas cylinders and other merchandise.
As of the time of filing this report, the total value of losses had not been determined. Eyewitnesses however estimated the damage to be worth millions of Naira. More than 10 gas cylinders ruptured entirely during the fire incident.
Residents are now urging the government and relevant authorities to enforce stricter safety regulations at gas retail outlets, and to prohibit any activities involving open flames near gas shops to prevent a recurrence of such accidents in the future.
