No fewer than eight shops were razed by a devastating fire on Monday in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The incident occurred beside Sango Police Divisional Headquarters, Sango, in the Ibadan North Local Government Area of the state.
Though no casualty was recorded and the root cause of the fire incident was yet to be ascertained as of press time, investigations by PUNCH Online, however, revealed that eight out of 84 shops were destroyed by fire.
An eyewitness, identified as Bukola Ogundeji, said, “I am not a shop owner there. I only came for a visit, but the incident started around 12:30pm. We are yet to ascertain the root cause of the fire incident.”
The Special Adviser to Governor Seyi Makinde on Fire Reform/Chairman of the Fire Services Agency, Moroof Akinwande, confirmed the incident.
Akinwande, in a statement in Ibadan, the state capital, said, “The Agency’s Control room Centre received the distress call at exactly 12:43hrs through a telephone call and Mr Akanni to shops on fire at shops beside Sango Police Divisional Headquarters, Sango, Ibadan.
“Immediately, firefighters led by ACFS Bamidele Samsudeen promptly mobilised and deployed to the scene of the incident.
“Upon arrival, we met eight out of 84 shops engulfed by fire. Firemen promptly launched a coordinated attack on the blaze and restricted the fire from spreading to other shops.
“The firefighting operation was jointly carried out with the officers from the Federal Fire Service Ibadan Command. No casualty was recorded, and the root cause of the fire incident was yet to be ascertained, and the fire investigation is still in progress,” he explained.
He, therefore, urged the public to be conscious of fire and emphasised the importance of having fire extinguishers in every shop and household in order to prevent fire incidents at the incipient stage.
“Report fire incident and give correct address, contact our emergency lines: 08067439223 and 08054353501 or 615 (Till Free),” he added.
