• … 22 out of the 44 rooms were affected

A Fire outbreak has been reported at Alhaji Haruna Kannike Shopping Complex- a two-storey building housing 25 shops and 44 rooms, located at Ipata Market, in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

Reports gathered revealed that the inferno started at the upper floor of the building.

In a statement released to DiamondFM by the spokesperson of Kwara State Fire Service, Mr. Hassan Adekunle, the incident occurred around 1pm today (14th December, 2024).

Mr. Hassan revealed further that all 25 shops in the affected building were successfully saved, while 22 out of the 44 rooms were affected. He blamed the incident on a power surge and added that firefighters from the Federal Fire Service also joined the operation in extinguishing the inferno.

Fire fighters at work in efforts to extinguish the inferno

“A fire truck and crew arrived swiftly at the scene to combat the blaze in the two-storey building housing 25 shops and 44 rooms. Upon arrival, the fire had already engulfed some rooms on the upper floor. Undeterred by the challenging situation, the gallant firefighters contained the blaze, extinguished it completely, and prevented it from spreading to other parts of the market.

Preliminary investigations revealed that parts of Ilorin had experienced a power outage lasting nearly five days. Shortly after electricity was restored by IBEDC, a power surge occurred, igniting the fire on the upper floor.” Mr. Hassan added.

The Director of the Kwara State Fire Service, Prince Falade John, in his reaction urged the public to unplug electrical appliances when not in use and emphasized the importance of adopting safety measures to prevent fire outbreaks.