The Patriot Institute of Journalism and Arts (PIJA), Lance Magazine is a public-centric independent media organisation dedicated to fighting injustice, fostering social justice and community development through the telling and retelling of the marginalised-oriented stories.
Residents and business owners have been counting their losses as fire gutted a building of four bedrooms and ten shops in Offa, Kwara State.
According to eyewitnesses, the fire outbreak happened Wednesday midnight at Ile Olola Compound, Essa Junction along Olofa Way. They said the fire incident occurred at approximately 01:35 hours, destroying properties worth millions of Naira.
When contacted, the Kwara State Fire Service spokesman, Hassan Adekunle confirmed that a distress call reported “a fire incident at Ile Olola Compound, Essa junction along Olofa way, Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State.
“The caller, Mr. Habeeb, alerted the authorities to the fire incident.
“Upon receiving the emergency call, fire fighters promptly responded and turned out swiftly to the reported location. The incident involved a building comprising four bedrooms and 10 shops, of which the four bedrooms and three shops were affected by the raging fire,” the spokesman added.
Our reporter observed that the impact of the fire was lessened due to the firefighters’ quick action, but the structure sustained significant damage nonetheless.
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It is further inferred that four bedrooms and three stores out of the ten shops were seriously impacted, leaving parts of the building burned and unfit for occupancy.
A neighbour who spoke to newsmen said, “the three shops comprise of one provision and wine shop, one multi-venture (POS, recharge cards and computer services) and the last, sells rice and charcoal in wholesale and retail.
“It is painful that the two of the shops just restocked a day to the outbreak.”
Another neighbour who didn’t want to be mentioned pleaded with well-meaning Nigerians to help the affected business owners and the two people hospitalized.
The cause of the outbreak is yet to ascertained.
Prince Falade John Olumuyiwa, the director of the Kwara State Fire Service, advised residents and property owners in the state to install and regularly maintain the necessary fire safety measures, such as surge protectors, circuit breakers, and fire extinguishers, in order to prevent similar incidents in the future.
He added that spreading knowledge of the state’s fire safety regulations can help to stop such incidents from happening.
Read Also:;80-year-old Woman Burnt To Death As Fire Engulfed Building In Kwara
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Jimoh Taofik
Taofik is a Mass Communication lecturer, trained journalist, freelancer, editor, researcher, corporate communications and public relations expert. He has Higher National Diploma (HND) in Mass Communication from the Federal Polytechnic, Offa, Kwara State and currently a Bsc student in the same discipline at Summit University, Offa, Kwara State. Taofik teaches Mass Communication at the Polytechnic, Ojoku, Kwara State. He is a guest-contributor for PIJAlance Magazine.