You were an eye-witness to a fire outbreak which completely destroyed the main market in your town. Write an article suitable for publication in a national newspaper describing the incident and suggesting measures that could be adopted to prevent a recurrence.
Explanation
THE RECENT FIRE OUTBREAK AT AJENIPA MARKET
The inferno that burnt down the Ajenipa market in Ajebamide town recently has caused a lot of anguish and sorrow in the town. It was such a terrible and calamitous fire that brought destruction of properties and commodities worth millions of naira and a suicide case on its trail Just last week, a woman who lost all that she had in the market committed suicide because of what she described in her suicide note as "a great loss."
The fire started at 12.30pm in the afternoon when the market was in progress. I was in one of the provision shops adjourning the electrical appliances shops. The inferno started in one of these electrical shops due to wrong connection which led to a great explosion. What started as a mere explosion resulted in fire which razed down the whole market.
When the shop where the fire started. was engulfed in fire, the shop owner and those who were there with him shouted fire! fire!! fire!!! A pandemonium started as traders and customers run helter skelter,. People run for their lives out of fear instead of putting out the fire and nipping it in the bud. The fire spread quickly to the next shop which, unfortunately, contained a ferry can of petrol concealed in one of the corners. This further helped the spread of the fire which spread uncontrollably to other parts of the market. The situation became worse as some shops near the electrical shop harboured explosives like carbide. The fire became a great conflagration within an hour and before the fire fighters could come around, looking for water to combat the fire. the whole market had been razed down.
However, further occurrence of such outbreak of fire should be averted The market would have been saved if in shops had not been built so close to one another. This makes the fire to spread so rapidly. The shops should be built n blocks leaving a gap between one another.
There should also be an enlightenment campaign organised for traders on how to put out fire instead of running into a stampede whenever there is a fire outbreak. A system of evacuating goods and people out of the market in case of a fire outbreak should be introduced in the market. Finally. fire brigades should be positioned near the market and they should be equipped with all the necessary facilities to combat fire in an emergency.
