Fire Saturday gutted the National Assembly Complex, razing part of the office of the clerk of the assembly.
An eyewitness said the fire began from an air conditioner in one of the rooms above the Senate chamber following a power surge in the expansive building.
Security men on guard duty reportedly raised the alarm when they noticed smoke billowing from the third floor of the White House, the main building housing the two chambers.
Heavy smoke from the office attracted the attention of one of the sergeants-at-arm who contacted men of the Fire Service Department located within the complex. The firemen put out the fire before it could spread further.
The Comptroller General, Nigeria Fire Service, Mr. Oke Olusegun, told reporters that a combined team of fire fighters from the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Julius Berger Nigeria and the Nigeria Fire Service responded to the distress call and put out the fire.
According to him, the fire which destroyed some documents in the office would have wrecked more havoc but for the quick response from the firemen.
However, the fire fighters had some difficulties locating the source of the fire. “It could have been worse if the fire had spread to other offices, but we thank God that it was put out immediately even though we encountered some problems due to the way the place is built,” Olusegun said.
When THISDAY visited the scene of the incident at 5.00 pm yesterday, the Chief Security Officer of the National Assembly, Col. Emeka Okere (rtd) and some of his staff were in the complex to ensure that nobody was allowed entry into the building.
The firemen were seen sweeping out the flood of water used in quelling the fire. The firefighting truck used in putting out the fire with registration number, NASS FL 278 MGT, was still stationed in front of the main building when our correspondent visited.
Security was also been beefed up around the complex as the road leading to the Three Arms Zone, where the National Assembly is located, was cordoned off by security agents.
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