Trader recounts how blown bulb, power fluctuation preceded Calabar mall fire

A trader recounted the harrowing experience as fire consumed the Spar shopping mall in Calabar, Cross River State. The inferno began the previous night, with the trader noticing a blown bulb in her shop and smoke, prompting her to contact the mall's maintenance team.

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I am a victim, oh, I am a victim, I am a victim. My husband’s shop is already down. I don’t know the fate of my own. I don’t know. I don’t know the fate of my own.

"My husband’s shop is already down. I don’t know the fate of my own," she lamented, describing the initial signs of danger. The maintenance team reportedly addressed the issue, but soon after, complaints about power fluctuations emerged from other tenants on the mall's shared platform. The trader herself flagged the development, expressing concern about the unstable power supply.

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The fire started yesterday night before I left. My bulb blew and we saw smoke and I called the maintenance team. They came and switched something off and they said they would do something this morning.

While attending a church service, she received the devastating news that the fire had spread throughout the mall. Another source present at the scene praised the swift response of firefighters and security operatives. "I want to thank our firefighters for coming to the rescue because what we’re having here would have escalated more than this, but not for their prompt response," the source stated. This intervention was crucial not only in controlling the blaze but also in preventing looting by suspected criminals and vandals who were reportedly attempting to exploit the chaos.

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On our tenants’ platform, people started complaining that their shops were having fluctuation of lights and I equally dropped my own, that our shop, we don’t know what is happening.