Residents of Akure, the Ondo State capital, have lamented the loss they suffered in the fire incident that occurred on Sunday night in the town, calling on the government for assistance.
The fire outbreak, which was said to have started at about 9pm on Sunday in the Obanla area of the capital city, destroyed property worth millions of naira.
According to an eyewitness, the fire started from a small gas station located in the area but the actual cause of the fire was still unknown as of the time of filing this report.
Many houses and shops were destroyed completely by the inferno but no death was recorded.
The eyewitness said two residential buildings and about 15 shops were destroyed by the late-night fire, adding that items, including electrical and electronics appliances and textile materials, were destroyed.
A resident of the area , Mr Oluwadare Olawale, explained that when the fire started, he went to report at the Ondo State Fire Service office, about five minutes’ drive from the scene of the fire, but he was told that the fire truck was faulty and there was no water.
But one of the men of the Ondo State Fire Service, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told our correspondent that firefighters went to the scene and eventually put out the fire.
One of the affected shop owners, Mr Chukwuma Chinonso, lamented that he had all the electronic appliances worth several millions of naira in the shop and they had been burnt down.
She said, “None of the shops was selling gas or flammable commodities, and there was power outage; so, it could not have been an electrical spark. We called the fire service severally, but they said they had no water, logistics or fuel.
“We want the government and NEMA to assist us, the damage is too much for us to bear. I just loaded my shop with items and everything has gone now,” he said.
All the victims of the fire appealed for the intervention of Governor Rotimiotimi Akeredolu.
Meanwhile, Akeredolu has promised to render assistance to the owners of the affected shops.
The governor made the promise when he visited the scene of the disaster, made the promise. He said the state Emergency Management Agency would be mandated to assess the level of damage with a view to compensating the victims.
