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Business owners weep, one hospitalised as midnight fire guts warehouses in Osun

By Timothy Agbor, Osogbo 
04 November 2022   |   2:30 am
Tragedy struck yesterday in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State when fire razed two warehouses, destroying goods worth several millions of naira.

[FILES] A firefighter \JUSTIN SULLIVAN GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

Tragedy struck yesterday in Osogbo, the capital of Osun State when fire razed two warehouses, destroying goods worth several millions of naira.

   
The Guardian learnt that a fire started in one of the two-storey buildings at Alekuwodo Area of Osogbo at about 2:00 a.m., where mattresses were kept and part of the floors used for residential purposes.
 
Eyewitnesses said the fire started in the warehouse where the mattresses were kept and later spread to the whole house.  
   
According to the witness, the fire engulfed another two-storey building, housing furniture and decoration designs close to the mattress warehouse.
   
The fire destroyed goods in the two warehouses and also caused the collapse of one of the buildings. 
 
Residents living around the two burning buildings vacated their houses, and hurriedly evacuated their belongings in case of the spread of fire from the warehouses to theirs.
 
Others made efforts to get water to reduce the intensity of the fire while they waited for firefighters.
   
According to eyewitnesses, officials of Federal and State Fire Services arrived at the scene of the fire incident a few minutes after the outbreak.
 
A resident of the neighbourhood who claimed to have witnessed the incident, Abidemi Ojo, said it was a child who saw the burning warehouse and raised an alarm.
 

Ojo said: “The fire started around 2:00 a.m. in the middle of the night. My sister is living on one of the floors of the first warehouse and one of her children had gone to urinate before the boy discovered a fire in the house. My sister quickly called me because I am living around Oke-Fia. “After some hours of effort, they were able to put out the fire as sympathisers and traders worked hard to salvage some goods
 
“My sister, who is one of the occupants of the first affected building, lost all her properties.

“ I urged the state government and other kind-hearted individuals to assist her and other victims financially.”
 When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the Federal Fire Service in Osogbo, Lilian Tokode, said the situation was still under control.
 
Tokode said the fire was caused by an electric surge in one of the buildings, adding that, “the situation is  under control as our men are not back to station yet.”
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Also, the Chief Superintendent of Corps, National Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), Toyin Abioye said their personnel provided support to firefighters to ensure that the disaster was not out of control.

When The Guardian visited the scene, firefighters were still battling the fire.

Some of the affected business owners and residents wept profusely and lamented their losses.

The wife of the owner of the warehouses lost consciousness the moment she sighted the building and was rushed to an undisclosed hospital.

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