Property and goods worth over N10 million were reduced to ashes on Friday morning following an inferno that gutted a brothel in Asaba, Delta State capital.
The fire which was said to have started at about 5am razed down the entire building with over ninety rooms and about ten stores where provisions were being sold.
It took the intervention of concerned neighbours who used mixture of water and detergent to put out the raging fire and prevented it from spreading to the adjoining buildings.
When Sunday Sun visited the scene yesterday, some of the women of easy virtue whose rooms were affected by the fire outbreak were counting their losses, while others were puffing cigarette and Indian hemp.
Although the cause of fire was not known, a resident in the area who identified himself as Izuchukwu blamed it on faulty electrical connection in the building.
Izuchukwu explained that the fire started at about 5am when Muslims were preparing for their early morning prayer. “I came out in the morning when they were preparing for prayers and I saw flames of fire going up and people started shouting for help.”
According to him, the fire started from an electrical connection when electricity was restored by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC). “The fire was caused by electrical connection. When electricity was restored, there was a spark which resulted in the fire incident,” Izuchukwu noted.
He explained that the brothel had over ninety rooms where prostitutes make brisk business. Izuchukwu also blamed men of the fire service for not responding on time to the distress call, noting that the inferno would have done more havoc before the fire service men arrived if not for the efforts of neighbours.
Another resident of the area who pleaded not to be mentioned in print described the brothel as an illegal building which is causing obstruction on the right of way, calling on the state government to enforce its town planning rules.
