By Ademola Ade
A fire outbreak has razed 15 shops and partially damaged 25 others at the popular Bodija foodstuffs market in Ibadan North Local Government Area of Oyo State, leaving traders counting losses estimated at millions of naira.
The inferno, which occurred on Monday, affected a row of 44 shops, with 15 completely razed and the remaining 25 partially damaged by the fire.
It was gathered that the incident, which threw the affected traders and the wider trading community into mourning, reportedly started in one of the shops before spreading to other parts of the affected row.
Confirming the incident in a statement, the Special Adviser on Fire Services Reform and Chairman of the Oyo State Fire Services Agency, Hon. Dr Moroof Adebayo Akinwande, expressed shock at the devastation caused by the inferno and sympathised with the affected traders over their losses.
Akinwande attributed the incident to a suspected electrical wiring fault in one of the affected shops, adding that the prompt response of firefighters helped to minimise the damage and prevent the fire from spreading further.
Giving an account of the incident, he said: “The firefighting crew, led by Assistant Chief Fire Superintendent (ACFS) Bamidele, promptly mobilised and responded to the scene. On arrival, the crew discovered that fifteen (15) out of a row of forty-four (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.”
He added: “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 of such incidents, Akinwande stressed the importance of installing and maintaining functional fire extinguishers in commercial buildings, shops and households.
He urged business owners and residents to ensure that fire extinguishers were readily available and properly maintained to enable them to tackle outbreaks at their initial stages before they escalate into major incidents.
