Fire Outbreak: One dead, 600 shelters burnt at IDP camp in Borno
By Abolaji Adebayo
One person has reportedly died in an inferno that hit an IDP camp in Borno State while over 600 shelters were destroyed.
The incident occurred at the highly populated Customs IDP camp in Maiduguri on Wednesday.
It was learnt that the incident which started at about 6am, according to some displaced persons at the camp, destroyed over 600 shelters and led to the death of a child with two old women injured.
The fire could have started from the firewood cooking of one of the women living in one of the huts in the camp.
The fire which consumed over 600 shelters burned for over an hour before being put out.
One of the IDPs said: “The fire outbreak consumed parts of the camp and was put out by the combined efforts of the IDPs, security agents and officials of the federal and state fire service.
“Surprisingly enough, when everyone thought the doom was over, a fire broke out in another part of the same camp (Customs IDP camp) about four hours later, destroying many of the makeshift tents.”
Spokesman of the National Emergency Management Agency in the North-East, Mallam AbdulKadir Ibrahim, said a team of emergency workers had been deployed to ascertain the level of damage at the camp.
He said: “It is sad that after a series of lectures organised for the IDPs on how to handle fire and to cook, they keep making mistakes that continue to cause infernos.
“Two days ago, there was an inferno at Nganzai camp and just today (Wednesday) there is this one at the Customs IDP camp.”
Ibrahim added: “We (NEMA) are left with no other choice but to continue to enlighten the displaced persons on how to handle fire and cook.”
