A massive fire on Saturday gutted the popular Calabar Mall, which houses SPAR supermarket and several other stores, destroying goods worth millions of naira.

The inferno reportedly started at about 7:00 a.m. in a section of the mall before spreading rapidly and developing into a huge fire. 

Firefighters from the Cross River Fire Service, Federal Fire Service, and University of Calabar were deployed to battle the inferno. 

Security agencies also cordoned off the mall’s entrances to prevent looting and maintain law and order amid the confusion. 

One affected trader, Roseline Kelechi, wept as she recounted the devastating losses suffered after the fire engulfed her shop. 

Ms Kelechi said she sold women’s accessories, clothes, and bags, adding that several gowns in her store were each worth N700,000. 

“I rushed here to see if I could save some of my goods, but it was already too late. 

“I could not save anything,” Ms Kelechi added amid tears, as firefighters continued efforts to contain the raging inferno. 

Maxwell Ironbar, a divisional commander with the State Fire Service, said firefighters responded to the distress call immediately. 

Mr Ironbar, however, said the fire was beyond what the state service could handle alone. 

He said the cause of the fire had yet to be determined, adding that extinguishing the inferno remained the immediate priority. 

“The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. We are just trying to fight the fire, which is still on. 

“Later, we will start investigating the cause of the fire,” Mr Ironbar added. 

He urged Nigerians to contact the fire service immediately whenever they notice an outbreak, rather than attempting to extinguish fires themselves.

“I want to appeal to Nigerians to call the fire service whenever an incident like this starts instead of trying to put it out themselves. 

“This can cause escalation. That is one of the things I saw here,” Mr Ironbar added. 

The Commissioner of Police in Cross River, Ajo Ordue, described the incident as unfortunate and expressed relief that no lives were lost. 

Mr Ordue said he deployed police personnel to the scene to prevent a breakdown of law and order during the emergency. 

He said the deployment was also intended to forestall looting of shops amid the confusion caused by the fire. 

Efa Nyong, director-general of the Cross River State Emergency Management Agency (CR-SEMA), described the incident as sad. 

Mr Nyong said CR-SEMA, in collaboration with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), would conduct a comprehensive assessment. 

He said the assessment would determine the extent of destruction and enable the government to decide appropriate intervention measures. 

An eyewitness, Johnson Etim, who lives beside the mall, said he noticed the fire shortly after 7:00 a.m. 

Mr Etim said he immediately ran to the Cross River State Fire Service office to report the incident. 

“I reported the fire incident at the state fire service and ran back to the scene. 

“For over an hour, we were waiting for the arrival of the fire service. This is sad and unacceptable,” he said. 

Some affected shop owners said they had noticed a power surge at the mall on Friday. 

According to them, the surge damaged some electric bulbs in their shops, and they reported it to mall management. 

They said management told them it would investigate and address the electrical issue on Saturday.

The reported power surge has raised concerns among affected traders, although no official authority has linked it to the fire. 

At the time of filing this report, firefighters were still battling the inferno, and the full extent of the destruction remained unknown.

(NAN)