No fewer than 15 shops were razed by fire on Monday at the popular Bodija foodstuffs market in Ibadan North Local Government Area of Oyo State, destroying property and valuables worth millions of naira.
Investigation by our correspondent revealed that the fire started in one shop before spreading to others.
Confirming the incident in a statement in Ibadan, the Special Adviser to Governor Seyi Makinde on Fire Services Reform and Chairman of the Oyo State Fire Services Agency, Moroof Akinwande, expressed shock over the damage caused by the fire.
Akinwande attributed the incident to a suspected electrical fault in one of the affected shops, adding that the timely arrival of firefighters helped to contain the blaze.
The statement read, “The firefighting crew, led by Assistant Chief Fire Superintendent Bamidele, promptly mobilised and responded to the scene. On arrival, the crew discovered that 15 out of a row of 44 shops had been engulfed by flames and thick smoke billowing from the affected premises.
“The firefighters immediately commenced firefighting operations and successfully brought the fire under control, preventing it from spreading beyond where the fire was met.
“The fire was curtailed without serious damage to the affected shops. The suspected cause of the fire incident was the upsurge from faulty electrical wiring.”
To prevent a recurrence, Akinwande stressed the importance of installing and maintaining functional fire extinguishers in commercial buildings, shops and homes to enable occupants to contain fires at their early stages.
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