Next Cash & Carry fire: No looting took place – FEMA DG

The Director General of the Federal Capital Territory Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, Alhaji Abbas Idriss has denied reports making the round that the Next Cash and Carry Shopping Mall was looted in the course of fire incident that happened on Sunday.

He commended all responders, security agencies and the media for their prompt response to the fire incident at the Next Cash and Carry shopping mall at Kado district, Abuja.

A statement by the Agency says that immediately FEMA received a distress call on the fire incident, it immediately activated all responders, including the Federal Fire Service, FCT Fire Service, FCT Police Command, Department of State Services, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, National Emergency Management Agency and the Armed Forces. Others were Julius Berger, NNPC, and other private corporate entities in the FCC.

The statement stated that the rescue effort was well coordinated, leading to the containment of the fire.

Briefing newsmen at the scene of the incident, the Director General of FEMA, Alhaji Abbas Idriss informed that immediately the Agency got to the scene of the incident, the Security cordoned the area and fire fighting began, stressing that there was no looting whatsoever as being speculated by some people on the Social Media.

“What we saw on social media was staff of Next Cash and Carry trying to salvage the goods using trolleys. Nothing was taken out of the premises.” He said.

On the cause of the fire incident, Idriss said that investigations were ongoing to ascertain the immediate cause of the fire.

He further said that no lives were lost to the incident,neither was anyone within the premises injured.

The DG attributed the successes recorded over the fire inferno to the synergy and collaboration among the responders to the recent stakeholders coordination meeting on curbing fires in the FCT.

He appealed to business owners to factor in risk element in their business plans, noting that the fire trucks were hampered by access within the shopping mall.