There was pandemonium at the Idi-Odo, Challenge area of Ibadan, the capital city of Oyo State on Tuesday afternoon when fire broke out from a section of a popular supermarket, Fola Mart located along Felele road.
The fire incident which destroyed the grocery and household store of the mart was said to have occurred due to an electric spark from the generating set supplying power to the supermarket.
PMParrot gathered that the concerted efforts of okada riders at the Felele junction and good Samaritans saved the day as they rallied round to extinguish the fire before the arrival of the Oyo state fire fighters.
According to an eyewitness, many passersby rallied round to support the mart from being razed down while attributing the cause of the incident to carelessness from a member of staff of the supermarket.
Speaking further, Mr Lukman Akindele, an official of the Oyo State Park Management system (PMS) stated that the fire incident caught many people unaware while attributing the cause of the explosion to the faulty generating set of the company while commending the spirited efforts of good Samaritans in the area and personnel of the fire service who promptly put out the fire to prevent further losses.
PMParrot gathered that personnel of the Oyo Sate fire service made spirited efforts to battle the fire and saved goods worth millions of naira from being consumed by the inferno.
A senior official of the Oyo state fire service who spoke on condition of anonymity, attributed the incident to the careless attitude of an employee of the supermarket who intended to pour fuel into the generating set while it was still running.
He, however, urged that safety and precautionary measures must be adhered to at all times in order to prevent fire outbreaks.
Packaged by Dare Raji and Olawale Awe
