A Jos-based jelly-making factory, Bowlis Industries Nigeria Limited,
situated at Rafin-Pa area of Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau
state, was weekend, gutted by fire with goods and property
worth over
N80 million burnt down.
According to the General Manager of the
industry, Malam Abubakar Muhammad, who explained the situation to
newsmen, the fire which gutted the industry that employs 40 permanent
staff and 60 casual workers, started at about 11:00 pm in the wee hours
of Friday due to a surge in electricity supply in the area.
Muhammad
said workers had closed from work early that day and there was no power
supply at the time they left, but he got a call from neighbours who
told him that fire had engulfed the factory.
He, however, commended the efforts of the State Fire Service in
containing the fire before it could cause further damage in nearby
houses in the area and debunked the rumour that an explosive device
might have caused the inferno, saying, “the sound were those of the
chemical containers exploding from the fire.”
He said, “I got
calls from neighbours around the industry who told me that electricity
was restored and they heard a sound of spark from a high tension wire
which dropped on the zinc of our production unit. They thought it was
just the spark and went back into their homes, but latter discovered
that fire had caught the place.
“By the time I arrived the place,
men of the State Fire Service were called upon and had promptly
responded, with three of their trucks; one came first but the fire was
too much, they called for reinforcement which they got from Bukuru and
the State Government House.
The GM estimated the losses to cost a
total of about N80 million and called on the government to come to their
aid so that the factory which employs 40 permanent staff and 60 casual
workers can be put back to use.
Credit: Daily Post
“The fire was put out with the combined efforts of the neighbouring
communities at about 12:45 am. I thank Allah that no life was lost and
no injury sustained as a result of the fire incident though the fire
spread to the production, packaging and storage sections of the factory
and had caused loss of raw materials and finished products,” Muhammad
added
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