On Tuesday’s Bayelsa State Broadcasting Corporation, Glory FM, 97.1 was razed down leaving the station with damaged assets worth millions of naira.
A presenter on duty, Victor Binawari, informed reporters in Yenagoa, the state capital, that early in the morning the fire was caused by a spark from the station’s control room.
Mr Binawari said some of the areas involved were: account department, live and recording studio, control room and confidential records, electronics, furnishings, etc.
He said: “I was doing my breakfast show ‘Rise and Shine’ when the lights went off.
“I felt it was a minor technical issue we could fix, so we had to put on our touch lights and went on with the programme because the monitor indicated that we were still on air.
“It did not take long before I heard rumbling in the ceiling as if rats were up there chasing themselves.
“While I was wondering what was happening, one of our interns ran into the studio and alerted us that the station was on fire.
“It was at that point that I asked my guests to be calm and follow me out of the building. Only for us to get outside the studio to see that the building was seriously on fire.”
The Information Commissioner, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, who visited the scene, praised the fire fighters for combating the fire.
“We are grateful to God that no life was lost. I am going to give the report to the Governor and the state government will ensure that the station comes back on air, as quick as possible,” Mr Iworiso-Markson said.
However, several efforts at having the Fire Chief who led the fire fighter squad to comment on the event proved to be abortive.
“I am not authorised to speak,” he said.
(NAN)
