AIT/RayPower: One fire too many

The fire first dealt a blow on the operations of AIT/RayPower in 2002, when the Abuja office of the company went up in flames. The second fire was four months ago when the fire visited the Lagos office of the company, while the third unfortunate incident occurred last week in the ancient city of Kano. […]

The fire first dealt a blow on the operations of AIT/RayPower in 2002, when the Abuja office of the company went up in flames. The second fire was four months ago when the fire visited the Lagos office of the company, while the third unfortunate incident occurred last week in the ancient city of Kano.

The Kano office which housed the two broadcasts channels (AIT and RayPower 106.5), is situated on the 6th floor of a skyscraper, located on Murtala Mohammed Way, Kano.

It was a dull moment for Kano listeners of RayPower 106.5 FM and viewers of AIT as they have to wait indefinitely for the two stations to restore their services in the state. It was gathered that Ray Power recently boosted its transmission services in the state.

While both the listeners and the workers remain stranded, our correspondent gathered that the station will temporarily acquire the third floor of the house before securing a land for a permanent office.

But the debate that is now raging in the public sphere is the cause of the inferno. While some people are of the belief that the operation of the broadcast station was sabotaged by some individuals who are not happy with the station’s programmes, others believe the cause of the fire was due to sheer negligence.

“Of course, this should be a cause for alarm because it is not the first time the fire occurred in the offices of Daar Communication. People should note that the quality of the station’s programming does not go down well with government,” argued an observer, Abubakar Ahmed.

Other people believe that the fire has links with the involvement of the owner of the station, Chief Raymond Dokpesi in politics. One person observed that Chief Dokpesi might have incurred the wrath of the powers that be for heading the campaign organisation of the former military president, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida – who is now in the race for president.

However, it is instructive to note that the October 29 fire in Kano is seen by insiders as the negligence of the managers to safety measures. According to some of the staff of the station who pleaded anonymity, the fire started from the TV studio and spread to other offices of the station.

An inside source told Sunday Trust that there was a naked wire at the TV station for a long time and despite the station’s engineering department’s incessant request for a change of the wiring, nothing was done to that.

“The engineering department had written a number of memos on the bad nature of the wiring to the management, yet nothing was done. The wire is just a dangerous contraption that sparks regularly,” said the source.

Another source revealed that some time ago, there was once a minor fire outbreak at the TV studio during newscast. “The situation was hurriedly averted and the station did not go off air,” the source said.

A broadcaster, Abdullahi Mustapha, argued that it was wrong to lay carpet in the studio. “What should have been on the floor of the studio is a rubber tile. Why this should be used is because it does not make sound when people step onto it and it is somehow fire-proof,” he said.

The Officer in Charge (OC) of Operations of the Kano State Fire Service, Kassim Musa, said they are yet to conclude their report on the fire incident.

“For now, we can’t tell you the cause of the fire. When we arrived at the scene, all the offices of the station were on fire, and thick smoke was billowing out of them. We immediately went into action and climbed into the sixth floor and fought the fire,” he said.

The fire fighter revealed that since almost all items and equipment at the station had burnt beyond salvation, the cause of the fire would be established after a thorough assessment of the situation.

Speaking to newsmen at the scene of the fire, the Head of TV of the station, Abdulmalik Addy, said the cause of the fire was yet to be established, noting that they were awaiting the report of the state fire service.

He said their transmitters, television sets, cameras, recording equipment, editing machines, air conditioners, among other equipment, were gutted by the fire. According to him, what they were only able to salvage were two television sets and a printer.

While expressing shock and sadness over the incident which he described as a monumental loss, Mr Addy said all the workers on duty hurriedly left the station when the situation went out of hand.

Our correspondent reports that although no life was lost, property worth hundreds of millions of naira perished in the inferno.

But succour may come the way of AIT/RayPower as the Kano government promised to assist the station.

Paying a sympathy visit to the station, Kano State governor, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, described the fire as unfortunate, saying it was a colossal loss to the organization.

The governor then expressed government’s determination to assist the company. “I am sure relevant agencies of government will come and see what intervention can be done, especially in term of restoring your services which is going to be lost for quite some time,” the governor said.

Conducting the governor round the charred station on Saturday last week, the station’s manager, Abdulmalik Addy, told the governor that everything was consumed by the inferno.

People however said until the station managers become more responsive to disaster management, the fire may be a recurring decimal.