A fire outbreak has occurred at Sterling Bank branch in Oke-Ilewo area of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
The cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained. However, Premiumtimesng.com quoted a source at the the bank as saying the fire emanated from one of the inner offices.
Several customers inside the bank rushed out through the emergency exit.
Fire service officials have since cordoned the area, as frantic efforts were ongoing to put off the fire, as passerby watch helplessly at the scene.
A member of staff of the bank who spoke on the condition of anonymity revealed that the fire incident occurred around 12noon and it was due to electrical fault caused by a power surge.
Efforts by the security personnel of the bank to put off the fire by using the bank’s fire extinguishers were said to bé futile, as the management of the bank had to call the fire fighters from the state fire service.
The fire fighters later put off the fire before it spread to other parts of the building.
None of the management staff was ready to speak with the journalists at the scene of the incident.
However, speaking to journalists at the scene of the incident, the Deputy Director, Ogun Fire and Safety Service, Mr. Adebambo Adesanya, said the fire service received a call from the bank and responded immediately.
He said,” We received a call from the bank that there was a fire incident and within few minutes, we arrived the scene to control the situation. By the grace of God, everything is now under control.
“The fire occurred as a result of power surge, presently I can’t confirm the extent of the damage but after everything we will be able to ascertain that but only a part of the roof was affected.
“We have to be very careful with our electrical gadgets during this harmattan period.
“Ninety per cent of the equipment that we use in our offices and homes are purely combustible elements and can ignite anytime there is explosion.
“We must ensure that we guard against this and get ourselves ready to tackle and avert incidents like this.”
See some of the photos from the scene below.
