Fire outbreak destroys rooms, shops in Ipata market

A two-storey building housing 25 shops and 44 rooms on Saturday, gutted by fire at Alhaji Haruna Kannike Shopping Complex, Ipata Market, Ilorin, Kwara State.

In a statement by Hassan Hakeem Adekunle, the Head of Media and Publicity, Kwara State Fire Service, the Service while responding to a distress call reporting a fire outbreak, said upon arrival of firefighters, the fire had already engulfed some rooms on the upper floor where 22 rooms were affected, and 22 others and all 25 shops were contained.

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The statement furthered that the preliminary investigations revealed that parts of Ilorin had experienced a power outage lasting nearly five days. Shortly after electricity was restored by IBEDC, a power surge occurred, igniting the fire on the upper floor.

However, the Director of the Kwara State Fire Service, Prince Falade John, urged the public to unplug electrical appliances when not in use while emphasising the importance of adopting safety measures to prevent fire outbreaks.