Fire destroys shops in Oyo market

A fire outbreak in the early hours of Tuesday ravaged at least eight shops at the bustling Oka-Asamu Market in the Kosobo area of Oyo East Local Government Area, Oyo State.  

Sources revealed that the inferno, which erupted around 2 a.m., was triggered by a high-voltage electricity surge. The blaze resulted in the loss of goods and property valued at thousands of naira.

Confirming the incident, the General Manager of the Oyo State Fire Service, Rev. Akinyemi Akinyinka, credited the swift response of state firefighters for preventing the fire from spreading further.

He disclosed that the fire affected only eight shops out of 18 rows of multiple shops due to the intervention of the firefighters.

He said, “The Oyo State Fire Services Agency (Oyo Command) averted an inferno at Oka-Asamu, Kosobo area in Oyo, Oyo East Local Government.

“At the early hours of Tuesday, 18th February 2025, the Oyo State Fire Services Control Room received a distress call via telephone reporting shops on fire at the above address.

“The fire personnel, led by ACFS Oyedeji, were promptly deployed to the scene and arrived on time.

“On arrival, some shops were already well alight. The crew swiftly swung into action, restricted the fire to the affected area, and prevented it from spreading to other nearby shops.

“The fire affected eight shops out of 18 rows of multiple shops.

“The agency’s personnel were able to save properties worth billions of naira.

“According to the fire investigation conducted, eyewitnesses stated that the fire incident was caused by a high voltage electricity surge when power supply was restored.

“The crew returned to the station at precisely 6:51 a.m. and remained on standby.”