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An early morning fire outbreak on Sunday destroyed parts of a residential building located on Tewo-Gbore Street, Ogele Ori-Sunbare, Eyenkorin area of Asa Local Government Area, leaving residents counting losses.
The incident, which occurred around 12:38 a.m., affected a building containing a room-and-parlour self-contained apartment alongside a two-bedroom flat.
Confirming the development, spokesperson for the Kwara State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle, disclosed in a statement on Sunday that firefighters swiftly responded after receiving a distress call from the area.
According to him, the timely intervention of fire personnel prevented the inferno from spreading to nearby buildings and helped minimise the extent of damage recorded during the incident.
“Firefighters swiftly mobilised to the scene and, through their timely and coordinated efforts, successfully contained the fire and saved an adjoining building from being affected,” Adekunle stated.
Preliminary investigations by the fire service revealed that the fire was caused by improperly extinguished charcoal stored close to the residential building.
The agency explained that sacks of charcoal had recently been offloaded in the area, while some of the charcoal retained heat due to incomplete quenching.
“Upon exposure to air, the residual heat reignited and exacerbated the situation, resulting in the fire spreading to the building,” the statement added.
Reacting to the incident, the Director of the Kwara State Fire Service, Alabi Muhammed, cautioned charcoal dealers, transporters and residents against unsafe handling and storage of combustible materials capable of retaining heat.
He also advised residents to avoid keeping flammable materials close to homes and urged members of the public to promptly alert emergency responders whenever fire incidents occur.
The latest fire outbreak comes barely two weeks after another major inferno destroyed at least 24 shops at the popular Mandate Ultra-Modern Market in Ilorin.
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