No fewer than three shops were destroyed by an early morning fire at the Nigerian Railway shopping complex along Aleshinloye Market Road in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Saturday.

The fire, which started at about 4am, spread from one shop to another before firefighters arrived and contained the blaze.

One of the affected shop owners, Busari Olayemi, told Tribune Online that people living around Quarters 4 alerted them about the fire at about 6am.

Olayemi, who runs an interior decoration business with his partner, Adebola Sunday Adeniyi, said the fire destroyed window blinds, curtain fabrics, industrial sewing machines and other equipment.

He estimated the value of the items destroyed in their shop at about N21 million.

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“What happened here destroyed a lot of things. Our customers’ fabrics were burnt—you can see them over there. Our industrial sewing machines and tools were burnt right there,” Olayemi said.

“All the items we brought in for the past two years, or a year, that were stored there are gone. Everything destroyed in our shop is worth up to 21 million Naira.”

Olayemi said the shop owners could not immediately determine the cause of the fire.

“We can’t say a particular thing caused it because it had already happened before we arrived. We haven’t been able to trace where it started from,” he said.

CFS Akinleye of the Aleshinloye Fire Station, Ibadan said carelessness and ignorance remained major causes of fire outbreaks.

He urged traders to disconnect electrical appliances before leaving their shops, particularly given the irregular power supply and sudden restoration of electricity.

“So, let us be careful with what we plug into electricity. Some leave freezers on overnight to keep items cold, and then when power returns, a surge occurs, causing a spark and then a fire,” Akinleye said.

He also advised shop owners to keep fire extinguishers within easy reach, noting that they could help contain a fire at its early stage.

“A fire extinguisher, that small device used to fight fire, is not a small thing. If you have it handy when a fire starts, your job is to extinguish the fire at its incipient stage,” he said.

Akinleye urged residents and traders to remain vigilant, particularly as the festive period approaches.

“Fire is a good servant and a bad master. So we must not play with fire,” he said.

The Chairman of Ibadan South-West Local Government, Kehinde Adeyemi Akande, commended law enforcement officers and firefighters for responding to the incident.

He said fire officials would investigate the cause of the outbreak after containing the blaze and preventing it from spreading further.

Akande also urged traders to take basic fire safety precautions, including keeping fire extinguishers in their shops and switching off electrical appliances before leaving.

“We must ensure our refrigerators, freezers, fans, and light points are all turned off before leaving and locking up our shops,” he said.

The chairman added that the Oyo State Government would take steps to provide relief to those affected by the incident.

“So, regarding this unexpected incident, the government will certainly take steps to relieve the burden on those affected by the fire disaster, to whatever extent possible,” Akande said.