Goods estimated at several millions of Naira were on Friday night destroyed in a fire outbreak that occurred at Olusola Saraki Market, Ita-Amo area in the Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State.

According to the state Fire Service, items destroyed in the fire incident included clothing materials, provisions, mineral drinks and meat.

The Fire Service, in a statement, said that seven shops were destroyed out of the 269 shops in the market.

It said that the fire was sparked by a power surge caused by fluctuating supply from the power distribution company.

“The affected shops included meat vendors, clothing material shops, and provision stores.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that the incident might have been caused by a power surge following the fluctuating power supply from the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), as reported by the market’s security personnel”, the statement said.

The Fire Service sympathised with the market leadership, affected shop owners, and the entire market community. It expressed hope that the losses of the traders would be restored in multiple folds. The Service urged everyone to adopt fire safety measures to prevent future occurrences.