More than 40 makeshift homes, popularly known as batcher houses, have been destroyed in a devastating fire that swept through Onukwuru Street, off Rumuolumeni Road (Iwofe Road), in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, leaving many residents without shelter.
The fire broke out on Tuesday and quickly spread through the densely populated settlement, reducing homes and personal belongings to ashes. Although no fatalities were recorded, residents said valuables worth millions of naira were lost in the inferno.
Eyewitnesses blamed the outbreak on an accident involving kerosene and an open fire. According to residents, a woman was frying groundnuts with firewood when another woman attempted to pour kerosene from a jerrycan into a nearby basin.
Residents said the woman cooking reportedly warned her neighbour to wait until the firewood had completely gone out before handling the kerosene. The warning was allegedly ignored, and the kerosene reportedly ignited, sparking a blaze that spread rapidly through the community.
The fire moved swiftly from one structure to another because many of the homes were built with highly combustible materials. Residents made frantic efforts to stop the flames from spreading, but were overwhelmed by the intensity of the fire before it could be brought under control.
After the incident, many victims were seen searching through the burnt remains of their homes in a desperate attempt to recover any belongings that survived the fire. Others stood in shock, watching the ruins of what had once been their homes.
For many of those affected, the greatest concern is finding temporary shelter after losing everything they owned.
“Everything I have laboured for in Port Harcourt has gone. Where do I start from? I have no place to lay my head,” one distraught resident lamented.
As of the time of filing this report, no deaths had been confirmed, while the full extent of the property damage was yet to be officially determined.
