{"id":753,"date":"2026-07-11T12:47:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T11:47:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=753"},"modified":"2026-07-11T12:47:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T11:47:07","slug":"traders-still-counting-losses-struggling-to-rebuild-weeks-after-devastating-fire-outbreak-in-abraka-investigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=753","title":{"rendered":"Traders Still Counting Losses, Struggling To Rebuild Weeks After Devastating Fire Outbreak In Abraka\u2014 Investigation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Britney Simon<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weeks after a fire destroyed several shops at the Campus 1 Small Gate area of Abraka, many traders are still struggling to recover, with some saying they have received no support to restart their businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A visit to the scene showed that parts of the affected building still bear clear signs of the inferno. Burnt roofing sheets, scorched walls and charred remains of goods serve as a reminder of the incident that disrupted commercial activities in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to residents and traders, the fire occurred on a rainy Friday afternoon in June while people were attending to customers. Although the exact cause has not been determined, eyewitnesses said the fire spread quickly before the community noticed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An eyewitness popularly known as Chief Vulcanizer said the first signs of smoke were spotted by commercial motorcyclists and residents across the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> Six Aspiring Models Launch Fashion Career In Abraka<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt just started suddenly. Nobody actually knows the cause of the fire,\u201d he said.He added that the fire started in a shop belonging to a woman who sells foam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trader, he said, had travelled to her village to bury her mother, who was reportedly the oldest woman in the community, and had not reopened the shop for over two months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Goodnews, who operates a furniture workshop close to the affected area, said they managed to evacuate some furniture before the fire spread, but many valuable materials were destroyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were able to save some furniture, but many materials got burnt. It has really affected our lives and our business because we had to buy new materials to replace the ones we lost,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> Mass Communication Defeats Journalism 2\u20130 to Win DELSU Dean\u2019s Cup<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that since the incident, neither the government nor any organisation has provided financial assistance to help affected traders recover.A worker at the workshop also lamented the lack of support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have not received support from anybody,\u201d he said, adding that rebuilding has been slow because of the high cost of materials.Chief Vulcanizer said other businesses were also affected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to him, a woman who runs a food business between his vulcanizer workshop and the furniture store has not been coming to the area as frequently since the fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the heavy losses, residents expressed gratitude that no lives were lost. Community members and bike riders responded quickly after noticing smoke, helping to prevent further destruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> DELSU Student Drives Home Brand-New Car at MTN Pulse Campus Activation<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some affected traders said residents have advised them to consider relocating, noting that this is not the first fire incident in the area. They believe moving to a safer location may reduce the risk of a repeat occurrence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although business activities have gradually resumed, signs of damage remain visible. Some traders are still operating with limited equipment and materials as they try to rebuild.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The incident has also raised concerns about fire safety and emergency response in the community. Many residents said greater awareness of fire prevention measures and faster emergency intervention could help reduce the impact of future outbreaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As traders continue to rebuild, they are appealing to the government, well-meaning individuals and charitable organisations for assistance to recover fully from their losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> The Impact of Sports Betting on Young Nigerians, By Ifeoluwa Fadipe<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are just managing,\u201d Mr. Goodnews said. \u201cWe hope someone will come to our aid so we can get back on our feet.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Britney Simon Weeks after a fire destroyed several shops at the Campus 1 Small Gate area of Abraka, many traders are still struggling to recover, with some saying they have received no support to restart their businesses. A visit to the scene showed that parts of the affected building still bear clear signs of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":754,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"iawp_total_views":2,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,35,14],"tags":[31,197,25,198,196],"class_list":["post-753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abrakametro","category-education","category-trendingnews","tag-abraka","tag-abraka-metro","tag-delsu","tag-fire-outbreak","tag-local-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=753"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":755,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753\/revisions\/755"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}