56 shops, rooms razed as lorry collides with high-tension cable in Ilorin

About 56 shops and rooms were completely razed yesterday in Ilorin, Kwara State, after an articulated vehicle collided with a high-tension wire, sparking a massive inferno.

The incident occurred early yesterday at Ile Bilewu, Alabi-Owo Junction, Ita-Amodu area, when the vehicle, loaded with mattresses, touched a high-tension wire, causing sparks that ignited the blaze. The Guardian learnt that two wires from the grid were dislodged in the process, intensifying the fire.

Eyewitnesses disclosed that the situation worsened when a nearby step-down transformer exploded during the inferno. The fire had already caused significant damage before firefighters arrived at the scene.

“On arrival, we encountered a massive inferno originating from a lorry overloaded with mattresses,” the spokesperson for the state fire service, Hassan Hakeem Adekunle, said. He explained that the highly flammable mattresses contributed to the rapid spread of the fire to a nearby building, which housed 47 rooms and 19 shops.

Adekunle noted that the transformer explosion further exacerbated the situation, aiding the fire’s swift spread to adjacent shops and rooms. However, firefighters managed to contain the blaze, saving 12 shops and 31 rooms. Unfortunately, seven shops and 16 rooms were completely destroyed.

Meanwhile, the Director of the Kwara State Fire Service, Prince Falade John, called for heightened safety measures to prevent similar incidents in the future, stressing the critical need for safety awareness and precautions.