Fire engulfs 2 Ilorin factories in less than 24 hours
By Dele Moses, Ilorin
Two companies were at the weekend lost to fire incidents in less than 24 hours in Ilorin, Kwara State capital.
The first of the two incidents happened at about 11pm on Friday while the other occured around 3:15pm on Saturday.
The affected companies were Kunzol Multi-Sector Nigeria Limited, a yam flour factory at Kilanko–Agbonka area about 11pm on Friday and Unik AJ Prints, a printing press located along Opomalu road in Ilorin.
Spokesman of the State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle who confirmed the two fire outbreaks in separate statements on Saturday said the yam flour and crunchy gari company suffered extensive damage as the entire factory area was engulfed by the blaze.
He said preliminary investigation revealed that the fire was triggered by remnants of unquenched fire, which ignited combustible materials in close proximity, leading to rapid escalation.
Adekunle said the fire outbreak at Unik AJ Prints involved a storey building housing two large halls, all of which were affected by the fire, including printing machines and other production materials.
“Firefighters arrived promptly and worked rigorously under challenging early-morning conditions to contain the blaze.
“Their swift and determined efforts successfully prevented the fire from spreading to adjoining structures, averting further damage in the densely built area.
“Preliminary findings indicated that the fire was suspected to have been caused by a spark from the inverter system, which subsequently ignited nearby combustible materials,” he stated.
