A fire outbreak occurred this afternoon at Gbagi Market, causing damage to two shops before emergency response teams swiftly moved in to bring the situation under control.
Egalitarian Voice learnt that the fire caused damage to two shops before emergency response teams swiftly moved in to contain the disaster.
Akinyemi Akinyinka, General Manager of Oyo State Fire Services, said in a statement that distress calls were received from officers at the Gbagi Station, the Divisional Police Officer of the station, and several market leaders at approximately 1:23 pm.
“We received calls from our officers at Gbagi station, DPO Gbagi station, and many market leaders at around 1:23 pm. Our men got there around 1:30 pm, two shops are well alighted, the fire is under control, and the men are still cooling down.”
He assured journalists of details when the fire truck is back at the headquarters.
The cause of the fire could not be ascertained by the time of filing this report, as investigations were ongoing.
Fire incidents have become regular occurrences in Oyo State with the Aleshinloye Market, also in Ibadan, recently in the news for a fire incident that cost many shop owners goods worth millions of naira.
These incessant fire incidents in Oyo and other states in Nigeria are perhaps a stark reminder that the country is yet to adopt best practices in preventing market fires. This should, therefore, serve as a wake up call for relevant authorities to do the needful when it comes to securing Nigerian markets from preventable fire incidents.
