Fierce Fire Erupts In Jow Market Of Wau

By James Deng Dimo
WAU, 29th January 2012 [Gurtong] – A fierce fire erupted yesterday in the main and mostly congested Jow market in Wau County, Western Bahr el Ghazal and destroyed several properties at around 1:00 pm local time.

Those affected were mostly women, roadside vendors whose properties were burnt to ashes. Motorcycles of unknown value, 4 drums of petrol and 1 generator were also engulfed in the fire that spread fast in the Market.

Other properties including bags of sugar, maize, beans, coconuts and oranges were also destroyed in the Market. 

The fire spread 30 meters away from the market and burnt a nearby home belonging to a woman known as Yaja el Mass. She told Gurtong that two of her houses including all her properties burnt, she told Gurtong.

Police Brigadier Albino Utho Mariano told Gurtong that the fire started after a petrol jerrican accidentally spilled to a motorbike engine while in the process of transporting the highly flammable gasoline.

“The fire first burnt his motorbike and started advancing to the nearest petrol drums,” Utho said.

A United Nations owned fire brigade water truck based at Wau airstrip intervened about 30 Minutes after the fire had already destroyed properties in the Market.

The public blamed the government for luck of emergency water trucks from State fire brigade department; they were expected to intercept the market fire from causing more damage.

This is not the first time fire destroyed Jaw market, last year a similar occurrence left several houses burnt.