Fire outbreak, on Monday, destroyed property and other valuables worth millions of Naira at the popular Bodija foodstuffs market in Ibadan North Local Government Area.
Fifteen of a row of 44 shops were completely razed by the fire, while the remaining 25 were partially burnt.
Reports said that the inferno, which threw the entire trading community into pandemonium, started in one of the affected shops.
The Special Adviser on Fire Services Reform and Chairman of the Fire Services Agency, Dr. Moroof Adebayo Akinwande, expressed shock over the devastating impact of the inferno on the affected traders.
He attributed the fire to an electrical wiring fault in one of the affected shops.
He, however, added that the timely arrival of the firefighting crew minimised the losses.
Giving an account of the incident, he said: “The firefighting crew, led by Assistant Chief Fire Superintendent (ACFS) Bamidele, promptly mobilised and responded to the scene. On arrival, the crew discovered that fifteen (15) out of a row of forty-four (44) shops had been engulfed by flames, with thick smoke billowing from the affected premises.
“The firefighters immediately commenced firefighting operations and successfully brought the fire under control, preventing it from spreading beyond where the fire was met.
“The fire was curtailed without serious damage to the affected shops. The suspected cause of the fire incident was an upsurge from faulty electrical wiring.”
To prevent a recurrence of such incidents in the market, Akinwande emphasised the importance of installing and maintaining functional fire extinguishers in every commercial building, shop and household to curb fires at their incipient stage.