Fire on Tuesday night gutted the building of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Ilorin, Kwara state capital.
The fire, which was said to have been caused by electric spark, started around 11.25pm and affected three offices and a conference hall.
Spokesperson of the Kwara state Fire Service Hassan Adekunle confirmed the incident to our correspondent.
He said: “Out of the 28 offices in the burnt building only three offices were affected and a conference hall.”
Adekunle said firemen “arrived at the incident promptly at exactly 11.29pm which was just four minutes after the NTA’s ‘turn out time.
“Although on getting to the incident, the raging fire was huge and had occupied several places within the premised areas.
“Yet, the firefighters conquered the fire as a result of good technicality and methods used by the firemen present at the scene of the incident.”
He urged “the general public (especially the public office users) to imbibe the habit of switching off all their electrical appliances before leaving their various offices.”
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq commiserated with management of NTA over the incident.
In a statement by his spokesperson Rafiu Ajakaye, the Governor said he was at the scene of the incident around 1am on Wednesday.
He said that the fire incident could have destroyed the entire facility but for the combined interventions of the Federal and the state fire services.
Ajakaye said: “We commiserate with the NTA over this unfortunate incident. But the bright side is that no life was lost. Also, the quick intervention of the fire services helped to save not just the facilities but the adjoining estate which could have been affected.
“This incident again underscores the need for everyone to do more to prevent such in the future. We commend the alertness of those who quickly called the fire services and our firemen for their prompt response and professionalism. We will continue to do more to support not just the fire service but also all other emergency responders.
“Everybody must be more alert. Our fire service will continue to be proactive by not only putting out the fire but also educating the people. However, we urge citizens to also take serious interest in how to curtail fire incidents which are becoming rampant.”
By Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin – TheNation
