A fire outbreak in the early hours of Saturday destroyed six shops at the Police Barracks in the Omolewa area of Yemetu, Ibadan, raising fresh concerns about electrical safety and emergency preparedness in public facilities.
According to the reports, no lives were lost in the incident, but the blaze affected a quarter of the 24 lock-up shops located within the barracks premises.
General Manager of Oyo State Fire Services, Mr. Yemi Akinyinka, confirmed the incident in a statement, noting that a distress call was received at 2:09 a.m. from Mr. S.O. Soyombo, prompting immediate response by emergency crews.
Akinyinka attributed the cause of the fire to the overheating of a deep freezer that had been left running overnight, which ignited and rapidly spread to neighboring shops.
The incident underscores the need for stronger enforcement of electrical safety measures and awareness among residents and small business owners in densely populated residential zones.
The general manager said that the fire service personnel, led by Mrs Adedeji, were promptly deployed to the scene upon receiving information about the incident.
“On getting there, it was discovered that the lock-up shops were on fire and we quickly swung into action, and were able to curtail the fire in time and restricted it from spreading to other nearby shops,” he said.
Akinyinka advised the public to always switch off and unplug their electrical appliances when not in use.
