Fire guts Kwara market

A fire outbreak in the early hours of Tuesday gutted several shops at Owode Market in Offa, Kwara State.

A video of the incident captured the moment some of the shop owners were mourning as they watched their properties razed by the fire.

“This fire is too much. This is not caused by NEPA (electricity). Maybe some people were cooking and the fire started from there because it was too much,” one of the traders said in the video.

A source from the town said personnel of the Federal Fire Service and Kwara State Fire Service eventually put out the fire, adding that no fewer than five shops were affected by the inferno.

“The authorities are still assessing the situation, but personally, I know at least five shops were affected. The worth of goods and properties destroyed can’t be said now until the assessment finishes.

“There are also several claims as to the cause of the fire until we wait for the fire service to release their statement on it,” the source said.

NEWSMEN  recalls that barely eight months ago, there was a report about a midnight fire that razed a residential building in the town and destroyed property valued at N6.5 million.

It was gathered that the incident that occurred at about 1:05 am at Kowope compound, Olorunkuse area, Offa, affected a two-bedroom flat and four shops.

Confirming the incident, the spokesman of Kwara State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle said the quick intervention of the firefighters saved property estimated to be worth N13.3 million.