Fire Destroys Eight Rooms in Ilorin, Nearly 20 Shops Affected

(Scene of the incident. Photo CREDIT: Kwara fire service)

An early morning fire has burned down 8 rooms in a house located right opposite Kulende Market in the Sango area of Ilorin, Kwara State.

It also threatened about 20 nearby shops before firefighters brought it under control.

The Kwara State Fire Service said it got a distress call at 5.16am on Wednesday and reached the scene at 5.32am, by which time the building was already in flames.

Firefighters put the blaze out by 6.10am and protected neighbouring buildings.

Service spokesperson Hassan Adekunle said the fire seems to have started shortly after power was restored to the area.

The room where it began held a large amount of used rubber slippers and flip flops that scavengers had collected for recycling, which made the fire spread quickly.

The exact cause is still under investigation.

Chief Fire Officer Alabi Muhammed warned residents, traders and recyclers to store rubber, plastics and other flammable materials carefully, in well ventilated areas away from sources of ignition. He also urged people to report fires quickly.

The incident came two weeks after a fire destroyed a block of three-bedroom flats in Kangile Village, Ilorin South, on 26 October.