A fire outbreak on Monday razed goods worth millions of naira at the popular Sango Shopping Complex in Ibadan North Local Government Area of Oyo State, leaving several traders in distress.
Although the cause of the incident had not been determined at the time of filing this report, the inferno reportedly broke out in one of the shops before rapidly spreading to adjoining outlets. Eyewitnesses said shop owners and fellow traders made frantic efforts to control the flames before the arrival of emergency responders, but their attempts were unsuccessful.
The situation was eventually brought under control following the intervention of firefighters from both the Oyo State Fire Service and the Federal Fire Service. Despite the scale of the incident, only eight shops were affected out of the 84 shops within the complex, while no casualties were recorded.
Confirming the development in a statement made available to journalists, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Fire Reform and Chairman of the Fire Services Agency, Hon. Dr Moroof Adebayo Akinwande, said the agency received a distress call and responded promptly.
According to the statement, firefighters led by Assistant Chief Fire Superintendent, ACFS, Bamidele Samsudeen were immediately deployed to the scene.
The statement read in part: “Upon arrival, we met eight (8) out of eighty-four (84) shops engulfed by fire. Firefighters promptly launched a coordinated attack on the blaze and successfully prevented it from spreading to other shops.
“The firefighting operation was jointly carried out with officers of the Federal Fire Service, Ibadan Command. No casualty was recorded, while the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained as investigations are ongoing.”
Dr Akinwande urged residents and business owners to be more vigilant, stressing the importance of basic fire safety measures.
He advised traders and households to ensure the availability of functional fire extinguishers, noting that early response at the incipient stage could prevent minor incidents from escalating into major disasters.
