Fire guts Oro central market in Kwara

Fire has gutted about 30 shops at the Oro Central Market in Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara.

Reports said that the inferno, which lasted for over four hours, started in the early hours of Tuesday.

All the 30 shops where yams and slaughtered animals are being sold at the market were affected.

All the affected shops, out of the 354 existing shops at the market, are constructed with planks.

It was further gathered that the fire was triggered when one of the traders and owner of one of the plank shops set pack of wastes on fire at the back of one of the shops, but did not wait to see the end of the burning waste.

Efforts to control the flame from spreading to other plank shops by other marketers around failed, as it had spread beyond their control.

It however took the efforts of fire fighters from the state Fire Service to put the inferno under control.

Some of the items damaged by the inferno included tubers of yam, slaughtered animals, electrical gadgets and other assorted materials.

Confirming the incident to newsmen shortly after combating the fire, the Director of the State Fire Service, Mr John Olumuyiwa, described the incident as unfortunate in view of the economic loss recorded.

Olumuyiwa however put the loss into millions of naira and advised shop owners to always be careful of their environment.

He said that his men are still at the market trying to be on standby in case the fire resurfaces due to combustion or inflamable materials.

The state Fire Service recently embarked on sensitisation programme to markets across the state on fire safety tips.