Two vehicles were destroyed in a midnight fire outbreak at the popular Sawmill Garage motor park in Ilorin, Kwara State on Saturday.
The incident, which occurred at the motor park located in the Odo-Okun area of the state capital was, however, contained by the swift intervention of men of the Kwara State Fire Service, preventing the fire from spreading to other vehicles parked at the facility.
Sources at the motor park said about 36 other vehicles were saved after firefighters responded promptly to the distress call.
Confirming the incident, spokesperson of the Kwara State Fire Service, Hakeem Adekunle, said the agency received the alert at about 2:48 a.m. and immediately deployed personnel to the scene.
According to him, the park accommodates about 38 vehicles, but only two cars including a Toyota Sienna and an 18-seater bus with registration numbers JJJ876HJ and KSF223SK were affected by the fire.
“On Saturday, 14th March 2025, at 02:48hrs, the Kwara State Fire Service responded to a fire outbreak at Sawmill Garage, Odo-Okun Area, Ilorin, Kwara State. The incident involved a motor park accommodating about thirty-eight vehicles. Upon arrival, firefighters discovered that two vehicles were affected by the fire,” he said.
Adekunle explained that the driver of the affected bus had returned from a long-distance journey the previous day and parked while waiting to convey passengers the following morning.
“In the early hours of the morning, while he was asleep, he suddenly noticed that his bus had caught fire. Efforts were immediately made by those at the garage to move other vehicles away to isolate the burning bus, but a Toyota Sienna parked close to it also caught fire,” he added.
He said firefighters brought the situation under control at about 3:03 a.m., successfully preventing the fire from spreading to the remaining vehicles in the garage.
