Another fire incident has occurred in the Basorun area of Ibadan with close to eight shops raced down by the inferno.
This is coming barely a week after the spare parts market at Araromi, Ibadan was engulfed by fire.
A shop owner named Iya Imole was said to have fainted upon getting to the fire scene and was eventually rushed to the hospital. According to her neighbours, she just restocked her drugstore the previous evening after she took a loan from the bank.
Eyewitnesses report that the fire which started around 3:15 am
begun from a food vendor’s shop that is always in the habit of using coals.
The woman after the day’s work did not completely put out the fire from the burning coals. It was however assumed that the fire flakes must have dropped on some rotten wooden planks which sparked the fire and were later assisted by a gas cylinder in the shop.
A POS owner, Mr. Jimoh whose shop was just slightly burnt narrated his ordeal.
“It is only God that will help us o. It was around after 3:00 am today when people started calling my phone saying the market is on fire and my shop is also close-by.”
“It is only God that saved me. I even put the generator in the shop.”
It was a woman who sells food in one corner there, that didn’t put off the coals she had used to cook completely.” He said
Many believed it was the fire flakes from the coals that dropped on the wooden planks and sparked the fire outbreak.
Mr. Jimoh recounted the efforts of the Firefighters who arrived 40 minutes later but unfortunately did not have enough water to completely put out the fire.
Other shop owners appreciated the impact of the firefighters and also acknowledged the presence of the Oyo state police from Ashi and the Testing ground area of Ibadan who came to monitor and contain the situation.
However, the affected shop owners were left devastated as they do not know how to count their losses.
Mr. Mathew, who has a house close to the market shared with our reporter that the incessant fire outbreaks in Ibadan markets can be traced to negligence. He advised people to be more careful with anything that has to do with fire bearing in mind that it is the harmattan period.
“Before you leave your home or office, put off the lights, cooking gas cylinders, even the freezers. These outbreaks here and there is simply negligence. We cannot afford to lose all we have been working for. This is a new year.” He said.
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