A fire incident early Sunday has caused devastating losses at Shril-Balaj Industrial Limited in Ibadan, Oyo State. The flames, which erupted in the recycling section, ravaged property valued well into the millions, leaving workers and company officials reeling from the scale of destruction.
Residents near the Olopomeji plant awoke to the sight of emergency crews battling a fire that had started among heaps of discarded tyres. Witnesses reported that the magnitude of stored combustibles allowed the fire to spread rapidly until suppressed by firefighters.
State Fire Service Chairman Maroof Akinwande, offering an overview of the incident, stated, “The fire incident was a result of the explosion of a running machine, which ignited nearby combustibles and set the section ablaze.” The fire, called in at 7:07 am, took hours to contain, though swift action minimized further losses.
Despite the heavy damages endured by the recycling section and tyre stores, the fire service succeeded in preventing the inferno from advancing to other operational wings. As Akinwande added, “The fire affected the recycling section and disused tyres, whilst the fire service was able to save other sections of the company from the devastating fire.”
Teams are now focusing on recovery, assessment of monetary losses, and revamping safety measures to forestall a recurrence.