YR 200 million damageFire hits Aden [Archives:2004/706/Local News]
A huge inferno, with damage estimated at YR 200 million, hit Aden recently.
It hit a number of stockrooms housing sponge and plastic materials in Alsailah area, east of Sheikh Othman, Aden Governorate, and led to the destruction of all the contents. Some firefighters were injured, and electricity in the area was lost.
Colonel Mohammed Hassan Al-Shameeri, the manager of Civil Defence in Aden Governorate said electricity contact led to the huge fire, not to mention the unsafe storage of material.
He went on to say that such storerooms of flammable harmful materials should be kept way out of the city and popular zones, adding that the civil defense management had commissioned a committee who promised to provide safety equipment prior to the incident, taking into consideration that this is counted the second such incident to take place in the area in five years.
The fire revealed the weakness of the competent apparatuses in dealing with such catastrophes and the non-existence of equipment to combat such incidents.
Electricity extensions are being put in place in a rather makeshift manner in that high voltage overhead electricity pylons are still the norm, which eventually leads to such sad incidents in poor-stricken areas.
Also, the lack of reaction by the competent agencies and the ignorance of people and merchants in that necessary precautions are not taken shall lead to further incidents if not dealt with appropriately, according to the leaseholder Ahmed Abdulbaqi.
——
[archive-e:706-v:13-y:2004-d:2004-01-26-p:ln]