{"id":18162,"date":"2021-11-10T09:02:25","date_gmt":"2021-11-10T09:02:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ndarason.com\/?p=18162"},"modified":"2021-11-10T09:02:25","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T09:02:25","slug":"toddler-among-the-three-who-died-in-the-raging-fire-at-muna-garage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/toddler-among-the-three-who-died-in-the-raging-fire-at-muna-garage\/","title":{"rendered":"Toddler among the three who died in the raging fire at Muna Garage"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Three people \u2013 including a two-and-a-half year old toddler \u2013 have died, many others are in hospital and hundreds of tents have been razed to the ground in a fire that blazed through the Muna Garage el-Badawe internally displaced persons\u2019 camp in Maiduguri, Borno State, last Thursday, October 4.<\/p>\n

Musa Umara, a distraught camp resident said: \u201cI was told there were child causalities in the fire. After it was confirmed I heard that my two-and-a-half year old grandchild was killed in the fire.\u00a0 I am feeling traumatised about the loss of that child. I am at a loss for words.\u201d<\/p>\n

The devastating fire started in the early hours of Thursday, October 4. Although the cause of the fire had not been ascertained, it was thought to be started by a kerosene stove.<\/p>\n

The fire surged through the camp, destroying everything in its path. Many residents fled with nothing but the clothes on their backs.<\/p>\n

The Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) told HumAngle that they suspected the blaze was caused by \u201cthe dangerous cooking habits of internally displaced persons\u201d.<\/p>\n

Umara said he had also lost 12 bags of grain in the fire. \u201cBut that is nothing compared with the loss of my grandchild.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another resident, Fatima Ali, said fires in the camp were frequent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis time I escaped with nothing but the clothes I was wearing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Waziri Ahmed, the deputy director of Borno State Fire Service Board told RNI that when they heard about the fire, they could not reach the location in time because it was too far away. He said by the time they got there the fire had destroyed the camp, comparing it with a blaze that had razed the camp last year.<\/p>\n

He said there were not enough units and personnel to adequately deal with fires.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe camps are often in remote locations. It is a major setback for our work not having more units and personnel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahmed said at a recent meeting with the NEMA and the SEMA, they had discussed the issue of frequent fires at internally displaced persons \u2018camps.<\/p>\n

It had been suggested that, because of the close proximity of the tents \u2013 which made it easy for the fire to spread quickly \u2013 more space between the tents should be provided. They said the tents should be at least 5m from the next.<\/p>\n

Nearly 3 million people had been displaced in the 12-year Jam\u0101\u2019at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da\u2019way Wa\u2019l-Jih\u0101d (JAS), more commonly referred to as Boko Haram, insurgency.<\/p>\n

Fierce, brutal and deadly attacks \u2013 often on a daily basis \u2013 had forced people to flee for their lives. Most settled in internally displaced camps or host communities.<\/p>\n

RNI tried to contact the SEMA for comment but was not successful.<\/p>\n