Uche Usim, Abuja
Passengers were rattled Saturday afternoon when fire reportedly engulfed the equipment room of the new terminal at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA).
The incident, which occurred at about 2:55pm forced the management of the Federal Airport of Nigeria (FAAN) to suspend passenger processing activities for firemen to clear the debris of burnt matter that littered the area after the fire was put out. No life was lost.
According to FAAN Spokesperson, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu, the incident was swiftly curtailed by the in-built fire detection and protection system at the new terminal that triggered automatically.
“The building was designed and built with this protection system. The system comes up when it senses high ambient temperatures and sprays fire extinguishing agent. The residue of powder sprayed by the system was seen in the cloud, there was no fire at all.
“The Authority will like to reassure passengers and the general public that there is no cause for panic, as the incident has been put under control and our firemen are clearing the remnant of powder after which operations will resume”, she stated.