No fewer than 28 shops and other property were gutted in a midnight inferno that swept through the popular Kara Market in Ajase-Ipo, Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The incident, which occurred around 1:35 a.m. on Wednesday, destroyed goods worth millions of naira before it was brought under control by firefighters.
Confirming the development in a statement, the spokesperson of the Kwara State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle, attributed the outbreak to negligence on the part of a shop owner who failed to properly extinguish fire used for cooking.
“On arrival at the scene, firefighters discovered that out of 323 shops in the market, 22 plank shops and 6 container shops were affected. Preliminary investigation revealed that the fire was caused by one of the occupants who did not properly put out a cooking fire, which later reignited and spread to nearby shops,” Adekunle explained.
He, however, noted that the prompt intervention of the fire service prevented the fire from escalating further and saved hundreds of other shops from destruction.
Adekunle assured that the agency would intensify its fire safety awareness campaign across markets in the state to forestall similar occurrences.
Meanwhile, victims of the disaster have been counting their losses as traders called on the state government to provide urgent relief to enable them to recover their livelihoods.
