Property worth millions of Naira were destroyed in an inferno that gutted The Word Assembly Headquarters Church along Ajase-Ipo road in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital, on Sunday at about 5pm.
Though the spokesman of the state Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle, claimed that the Service responded promptly to a call notifying them of the fire incident, some of the people our correspondent spoke with at the incident scene said the firemen did not come early enough, saying if they had responded early enough, the fire would not have ravaged nearly the whole Church.
The Fire Service spokesman said:
“The fire crew promptly responded to the call. Upon arrival at the scene, they found that a devastating inferno had already consumed the auditorium of the Church due to late call despite the significant damage caused by the fire. However, the firemen managed to contain the inferno and prevent it from spreading further.
“It’s worth noting that the materials used for the building construction were not fire-retardant, including aluminum roofing and plywood for the ceiling. These non-fire-resistant materials contributed to the rapid spread of the fire before the Fire Service arrived. As a result, not only the auditorium but also three out of the six offices were affected by the fire.
“During the subsequent investigation into the cause of the outbreak, it was suspected to be as a result of power surge.”
Meanwhile, the Director of the State Fire Service, Prince Falade John Olumuyiwa, has stressed the need for timely reporting of fire incidents by the general public, urging the people to always call the Fire Service promptly whenever a fire incident occurs with a view to minimising the extent of damage.