Prominent Social media personality, and executive editor of Report Afrique, Philip Thomas, recently took to his social media to express his disappointment over the lack of rapid response after a fire broke out in a building at Port Harcourt. The building damaged due to the sudden fire is at Number 9 Awkuzu Street, Mile 1 Diobu in Port Harcourt.
The building in question, at Port Harcourt, allegedly went down in less than 25mins. No emergency responders could make it to the accident site when the fire swallowed the building. Observing the lax response of the emergency first responders, Philip Thomas took to his social media account to express his disappointment.
Thomas expressed that the most shocking thing in the incident is that the location at the state fire service office is at the Old GRA, beside Isaac Boro Park. The location is opposite the Mile 1 Flyover, less than 5 min drive to this street. Yet, the media personality shared that according to his sources, there were no emergency responses for the 25 to 30 minutes this house went down.
The gravity of the situation was clear in the post of the media personality. These issues are common in the country. The media personality shared that he hopes for a day when the emergency response authorities of Nigeria can become more rapid and to the point.
Philip Thomas shared that the Rivers state council of Traditional Rulers Building is next to the state fire service office. It is with the state of the art fittings and has a well-designed green environment design. Meanwhile, the fire service office, located just next door, is an eyesore. The media personality explained that the building is a dilapidated and poorly partly renovated building.
The fire trucks used by the state’s fire services were allegedly designed in the early 18th century and parked left to right of the building. It is sad how we prioritise the wrong things in this country and are still doing so.
