A leading manufacturing company in Kwara State, Peace Pharmaceuticals, was on Tuesday gutted by fire.
The incident, it was gathered, occurred around 12 noon.
The inferno, sources said, started during the process of syphoning ethanol from an ethanol tanker to the company’s reservoir.
“A spark emitted from the pumping machine, ignited the flammable liquid, leading to the outbreak of the fire,” the source added.
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Men of the federal fire service and police were also called upon to provide support during the inferno which raged for hours.
The HOD of the Kwara Fire Service, Hassan Hakeem Adekunle, confirmed the incident.
He said, “The total estimated property saved is N1.4 billion while total estimated property lost is N87.2 million.
“The flame resulted in substantial damage to the company. But with the support from relevant authorities, the fire was brought under control, limiting further potential damage to the facility and surrounding areas.
“The incident was a challenging emergency that required immediate and coordinated action from the fire crew and supporting authorities”, he added.
“The Director, Kwara State Fire Service, Prince Falade John Olumuyiwa, advises residents and property owners in the state to install and regularly maintain appropriate fire safety measures, to avoid similar incidents in the future,” Adekunle added.