A newborn baby and its parents narrowly escaped death after a fire ravaged residential buildings and businesses in Oloje Phase 2, Ilorin, Kwara State, in the early hours of Tuesday.
The Kwara State Fire Service confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Tuesday by its Public Relations Officer, Hassan Adekunle, explaining that firefighters responded to a distress call at 2.41am on Lawyer Lambo Street in Ilorin West Local Government Area.
The family, who had recently welcomed their newborn baby, were rescued by community members after fire severely damaged their room-and-parlour self-contained apartment.
The inferno also destroyed a vehicle, a vulcanising workshop and damaged two residential buildings, as well as an adjoining travel and tours office.
According to the fire service, the incident involved two buildings comprising four-bedroom flats each and a third building containing the self-contained apartment occupied by the family.
In one of the four-bedroom flats, three vehicles were parked when the fire broke out. One was completely burnt, while firefighters successfully rescued the other two.
The agency said the second four-bedroom flat also sustained damage, particularly in its kitchen, where electrical appliances, including a freezer, were affected. The building’s solar power generation system was also damaged.
The adjoining travel and tours office equally suffered losses, with its solar power system, four tubular batteries and other electrical appliances affected by the fire.
A nearby vulcanising workshop was also destroyed after a high-tension electricity transmission line fell on the structure.
Explaining the cause of the incident, the fire service said preliminary findings indicated that the fire followed the collapse of a concrete pole supporting a 33-kilovolt electricity transmission line.
The fallen line reportedly landed on a vehicle, with a spark igniting its tyre before the fire spread rapidly to nearby structures.
The agency added that the fallen transmission line posed a serious electrical hazard to firefighters responding to the emergency.
It said it contacted the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company control room to request the shutdown of the feeder supplying electricity to the affected area, in order to provide a safer environment for emergency operations.
The Chief Fire Officer, Alabi Muhammed, expressed sympathy with residents, property owners and business operators affected by the incident.
He warned residents against erecting structures beneath high-tension electricity transmission lines, stressing the need for property developers and residents to observe prescribed safety setbacks around electricity infrastructure.
Muhammed also urged residents to report fallen electricity poles, damaged infrastructure and exposed transmission lines promptly to the relevant authorities.
He cautioned the public against touching fallen wires or objects in contact with them, noting that such contact could result in electrocution.
The fire service commended community members who helped rescue the family, stressing the importance of cooperation between residents and emergency responders during emergencies.
The incident occurred less than 24 hours after a fire destroyed a building comprising three-bedroom flats in Kangile Village, Ilorin South Local Government Area of the state, on Monday.
