Fire destroys 100 shops in Ondo commercial centre
Goods said to be worth millions of naira were destroyed in a fire
incident that occurred at a popular commercial centre at the post office
area of Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Thursday.
The fire also gutted an office of the Akure South Local Government Area inside the centre.
The market shared boundary with the palace of the Deji of Akure.
Although no life was lost in the incident, it was gathered that many of
the traders collapsed when they saw the damage caused by the fire.
An eyewitness, who declined identification, said the fire gutted no
fewer than 100 lock-up shops which were filled with stationery,
photocopy machines and computer accessories, among others.
Another eyewitness said the fire started about 1am, adding that its cause had yet to be known.
He said, “When the fire started in the middle of the night, we put a
distress call to the men of the Ondo State Fire Service, but they said
there was no vehicle. However, the men of the fire service unit at the
Nigerian Airport, Akure, were called upon. Before they got to the scene,
the damage had been done.”
The President, Association of Office Documents and Computers, Akure
chapter, Mrs Elizabeth Orogun, described the incident as unfortunate.
Orogun, who said the loss would be too much for the traders to bear
alone, appealed to the state government, the National Emergency
Management Agency and other stakeholders to come to the aid of the
victims.
She said, “What I heard was that electricity was restored in the area
around 12.30am; maybe the power current was too high and something
sparked, which led to the fire.
“About 100 shops were destroyed in the fire incident. So, we call on the
government to please come to our aid because we have no other means of
livelihood other than the goods that were destroyed by the fire.”
The Youth Leader of Akure community, Tuyi Adekambi, said the fire was caused by power surge.
He said, “If we have a functioning fire service in the state, the fire
would not have caused this much damage. It was the Airport Authority
Fire Service that came to put out the fire. Otherwise, the fire would
have burnt the Deji’s palace.
“Many traders have been hospitalised as they collapsed when they saw the damage caused by the fire.”
The Police Public Relations Officer of the state police command, Femi
Joseph, confirmed the incident, adding that investigation had commenced
into the matter.
https://www.geezgo.com/sps/27810
Goods said to be worth millions of naira were destroyed in a fire
incident that occurred at a popular commercial centre at the post office
area of Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Thursday.
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