Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
Residents of Idanre, the headquarters of Idanre Local Government Area of Ondo State, were thrown into sorrow at the weekend following an inferno that razed parts of the town.
Valuables worth millions of naira were destroyed as a result of the fire.
Some of the properties destroyed in the fire were a furniture factory with equipment and finished products, textile materials and phone shops, as well as classrooms of a nursery and primary school.
Although the cause of the fire could not be ascertained as at press time, residents say it could be as a result of a power surge in one of the affected shops.
One of the victims and owner of the furniture workshop, Mr Oluwatobi Atere, who was overwhelmed with grief, said he lost property close to N30 million.
A community leader, Mr Adesoji Abiodun, who said he mobilised the community to put out the fire, lamented the late arrival of men of the fire services to the scene of the incident.
Abiodun said that the level of destruction would have been minimal had firefighters responded early enough.
The Owa of Idanre, Oba Frederick Aroloye, consoled the victims of the fire incident, calling for the establishment of a fire station in the community which he said is the largest producer of Cocoa in the country.