By Princess-Ekwi Ajide Abuja
May 11, (Newshour.com.ng) – The Nigerian Air Force, NAF, has commend the firefighters for living up to expectations on the explosion incident at its base.
The NAF said that the fire incident at its Jet A-1 fuel dump at the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Base, Bill Clinton Drive, Abuja was put out by the combined efforts of Fire Services from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Federal Capital Territory Administration, the Federal Fire Service, and the NAF Fire Service.
A statement signed by the Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Ayodele Famuyiwa, revealed that an explosion from the fuel tanks was reported at about 0800 hours on Wednesday 10th May, 2023.
The statement notes, though located on NAF Premises, the fuel facility is owned and operated by Messer Geometrics Synergy Services Limited under a ‘Build, Operate and Transfer’ ownership agreement.
According to Famuyiwa, no life was lost in the incident but that investigation has been instituted to unravel the immediate and remote causes of the incident.
The statement further expressed NAF’s gratitude to the Federal Road Safety Corps, and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps who were at the scene with necessary assistance.
Meanwhile, reports say, residents of Airport Road, Lugbe location of the NAF base were scrabbling for safety following reports of the fire outbreak.
The scrabble for safety ensued with reports that the inferno was caused by a bomb explosion and out of fear that terrorists had set off another blast in the densely populated satellite town.
Head of Operations of Federal Fire Service in FCT, Amiola Adebayo, in an interview at the scene, said the cause of the fire outbreak will be made public as soon as investigation into the matter is concluded.
According to him, properties gutted include residential apartment blocks and office wings.
“The fire gutted part of the NAF Base, and our men are here putting out the fire, and we’re working hard to completely quench the fire. However, I can’t confirm the cause of the fire outbreak yet, but we’ll put out a statement once our findings are concluded,” Adebayo said.
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