Safety expert warns poor safety practices fuel repeated fire outbreaks as victims bicker over cause of fire at Macaulay

Beyond the lost goods and charred walls, a deeper story of human struggle is emerging as victims face the painful reality of losing life-long investments in a single fire incident.

Security and safety consultant Ukechi Smith says these tragedies are no longer just accidents but a wake-up call for neighbours and traders to look out for one another by ending the "it is not my portion" mindset.

Smith, who is also a fellow of the Nigerian Institute for Industrial Security, in an interview with correspondent Lerabari Deeyor, has called for a proper forensic investigation into the recent fire incidents in Bonny, warning that repeated market and shop fires across the country are largely driven by negligence, poor safety culture and lack of preparedness.

He said many communities fail to learn from previous fire outbreaks because incidents are rarely investigated thoroughly to determine their actual cause and how future occurrences can be prevented. 

According to him, “fire does not negotiate; it only responds to negligence or preparedness.”

The consultant identified overloaded electrical wiring, poor electrical repairs, use of substandard materials, poor ventilation and poor safety habits as some risk factors linked to commercial fire outbreaks. He explained that many shop owners rent spaces without checking whether the electrical wiring can safely carry heavy appliances such as freezers and refrigerators, leading to overheating and possible ignition.

Security and safety consultant, Ukechi Smith

He explained that while people often sleep in shops to save on high rent, this desperate survival tactic could put entire communities at risk when simple safety habits—like turning off appliances or checking a wire—are forgotten.

Smith also criticised the weak fire safety culture in markets and residential areas, noting that while communities often contribute money for security, very few invest in basic firefighting facilities such as mini fire stations, sand buckets or fire extinguishers. He said many estates and markets focus heavily on security against theft while ignoring fire prevention measures that could save lives and property during emergencies.

“In a full market they pay for security, they have people that guide the market but the full market cannot come together and build a mini fire service. You must not do the big fire trucks but there could be a mini fire station and that is why this brings us to that weak culture as regards this security and safety. They cannot come together to build a mini fire center and also make it mandatory that every shop should have at least a fire extinguisher.”

He stressed that the first five to ten minutes of a fire outbreak are critical, warning that delayed response often allows fires to escalate into catastrophic situations before firefighters arrive. He urged business owners to keep functional fire extinguishers, create emergency escape routes and avoid blocking evacuation points with burglary proof systems or locked exits.

“Does your car have a functional fire extinguisher? Do you have it in the house, do you have it in your business? You know, in fire practices five to ten minutes determine whether a fire is going to be controlled or it’s going to be catastrophic, because on this side of the world, I think the response time is always 45 minutes, one hour, and fire response time is between five to ten minutes. Between five to ten minutes, if you have proper fire fighting equipment you can actually stop that fire or reduce it from getting to the catastrophic level, from getting to the second grade and third classes of fire.”

Speaking further, Smith warned against blaming victims or spreading speculation without professional findings, saying only trained forensic fire investigators can properly identify the ignition source. According to him, baseless accusations after fire incidents can create unnecessary community tension and distract attention from the real issue of safety reform.

Smith concluded by urging individuals, communities and government agencies to treat fire prevention as a culture rather than a reaction. He called for mandatory safety compliance, public awareness campaigns, early warning systems and stricter enforcement of building and fire safety regulations in markets and other commercial environments.

Victims recount horror of early morning inferno, disagree over possible cause of fire

Meanwhile, victims of the recent Macaulay fire incident that occurred on the 7th of May, 2026, have continued to count their losses while appealing for support. One of the affected traders, Blessing Solomon, who reportedly slept inside her provision shop, narrated how she woke up to smoke around her freezer area, which shares a wall with her neighbours shop, before the fire spread rapidly through her shop and nearby buildings.

“ I  don't  know  the  particular  thing that caused it, whether it’s light that my neighbour  connected out there, because  the  light  started  near  that  particular  place,  my  freezer  was  there,  in  that  wall.  I  was  just  inside,  you  know,  something  like  batcher. I  saw  smoke  from  there. Before I  know,  something  fell on  top  of  my  fridge. I  start  seeing  smoke  from  that  wire  side,” she explained.

She said she escaped with only her phone after raising the alarm in the early hours of Thursday, May 7, 2026. She explained that residents struggled to respond because there was no nearby water source. Blessing denied allegations that she was cooking or frying food at the time of the incident, insisting that the fried food she sold were goods brought to her by neighbours and friends.

Another affected trader, Comfort, described the emotional trauma of believing her friend had died in the blaze. She said her primary concern during the incident was rescuing Blessing and not salvaging property, adding that the victim has remained traumatised after the incident and in 

“Groundnuts and cards, that is what she started with. She was a sales girl to my neighbor. We were very close then, until God took her to this level. So I'm happy for her. When I see her at this level, I don't know what happened, how all this happened to wipe everything in the twinkle of an eye. 

But I'm still grateful to God Almighty who saved her life. Because I know that God who saved her life, that God that began with her, that God will begin with her again. If people can help her to start up again, she will meet up,” she said.

Another victim, Hope, also narrated how the fire destroyed her newly stocked provision shop. Hope said she had recently returned from the market with fresh goods before the fire outbreak occurred. According to her, she lost a newly purchased refrigerator, cartons of provisions and virtually everything inside the shop. She lamented that she could not save any of her goods before the flames spread across the building.

The trader, who said she has been raising her children alone since the death of her husband six years ago, described the shop as her family’s only source of survival. She explained that proceeds from the business paid her children’s school fees, house rent, feeding and clothing expenses.

Hope said she started the business gradually from scratch after her husband’s death, building it little by little through years of hard work. She added that she is now worried about how to restart the business and cater for her children following the devastating loss.

“I've been struggling. I lost my husband six years back. When he died, I had a newborn baby of about two to three months. But we were planning child dedication before my husband passed. Since that time it has been me. I've been trying. God has been faithful though. I've been trying so that my children no go lack,” she explained.

She also criticised the delayed response to the incident, saying earlier intervention by firefighters could have reduced the damage caused by the inferno.

On his part, an electrical appliances dealer affected by the fire, Usen Sunday, also rejected claims that the fire started from his shop. He explained that his business mainly involved packaged electrical materials and repairs, insisting there were no heavy power-generating appliances in his shop capable of triggering a fire outbreak.

“I don't have any fixed appliance in the shop that will generate heat to the cable that we'll say, okay, from there, that is where the heat started from and to start the fire. I don't have any of such. All I have in that shop is electric bulb to see road, and it has a switch to turn on and turn off when I come and go.

So the news that the fire started from my shop is far from the truth,” he explained.

Sunday, however, supported calls for an investigation, saying communities must “learn from incidents” in order to prevent future occurrences. He also appealed for stronger regulatory checks on wiring systems, shop arrangements and safety compliance in commercial areas.

Firefighter describe emergency response

Providing insight into the emergency response, a firefighter, Iyalla Jumbo, said firefighters received a distress call around 4:30 a.m. reporting the incident at Macaulay.

Jumbo told our correspondent that a five-man crew from Seplat fire station immediately responded to the scene and later worked with the Shell fire service team to contain the blaze. According to him, the fire had already escalated into nearby structures before firefighters arrived, but the combined teams were eventually able to put out the fire around 6:30 a.m.

He said preliminary information from residents suggested the fire may have been electrical in nature before spreading into provision shops and surrounding structures. Jumbo noted that despite the difficult terrain, residents informed the firefighters that they responded on time.

A scene of the fire incident at Macaulay, Bonny Island

The firefighter also called for urgent fire safety sensitisation across communities, warning that fire outbreaks are becoming more frequent. He urged relevant stakeholders to organise awareness programmes to educate residents and business owners on fire prevention measures and the dangers associated with unsafe practices.

“You know, as a fire team within the oil and gas confines, we always respond to community fire and I think by now it's time for the the responsible stakeholders to carry out a sensitisation program to sensitize the locals on the importance of fire prevention and the risk behind it because it is becoming a more frequent occurrence within the community. 

So I think a sensitization program should be carried out and everybody should be carried along on the causes and the prevention of fire,” he said.

A scene of the fire incident at Macaulay, Bonny Island

Community leader urges safety compliance

Meanwhile, the Chairman of Macaulay community, Joel Tolofari, said community leaders and security personnel responded immediately after receiving distress calls around 3:30 a.m. He said firefighters from Shell were contacted and later arrived to help contain the blaze.

Tolofari noted that residents and shop owners have been advised to always switch off electrical appliances before closing for the day, although he admitted it would be difficult for the community to physically inspect every shop or residence to enforce compliance.

“We have warned that all the people that are selling, whenever they are closing, they should turn off all their appliances so that there'll be no fire incident in the future,” he added.

Ultimately, the call is for a new culture where safety is seen as an act of love for the community, ensuring that no more families are forced to start from zero because of a preventable fire.