A section of Ibadan’s Dugbe market was ravaged by a fire in the early hours of Sunday, destroying three shops and causing millions of naira in damages, SAVANNAH NEWSNOW REPORTS.
The fire, which started around 12:25 am, prompted marketers to rush to the scene.
The incident has sparked fears among shop owners, who have expressed concerns over the recent spate of fires in Ibadan.
One of the victims, Oye, lamented that the frequency of fire incidents has made it difficult for them to feel secure, saying ‘we cannot sleep with our two eyes closed again.’
“We all left our various shops late Saturday hoping to return on Monday but we’re shocked to receive distress calls from the people in the neighborhood, alerting us of the incident,” he said.
Oye added, “Though some traders were lucky to have their shops spared, others have lost their fortune to the inferno.”
A senior officer with the Oyo state Fire Service, Mr. I A. Adeleke, said: “The fire incident was reported to our agency at exactly 00:25 hrs on Sunday through GSM.
“The personnel of the agency were quickly deployed to the scene of the incident and they got there in time because there was no traffic hold up,” he said.
Mr Adeleke added, “On getting there, the three shops out of thirteen shops were already engulfed by fire and we swung into action and restricted the fire from spreading to other nearby properties.
“The fire was completely extinguished and people on ground were educated on proper ways of preventing fire incident during the Hammattan and how to control it at incipient stage,” he said.
