A midnight fire, in the early hours of Tuesday, gutted a tipper garage with 42 trucks in Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State.

The inferno, which started around past 1 am at the Alagbede Tipper Garage, reportedly originated from a refuse truck that has a lit charcoal.

“The fire originated from a waste collection truck that had been parked with refuse still inside.

“The refuse contained lit charcoal, which smoldered and eventually ignited, spreading to other trucks among the fleet in the premises,” a resident said.

Meanwhile, a similar outbreak at Awolowo road, Tanke, Ilorin on Monday night from a solar battery, razed two shops and completely destroyed one of them in the process.

Spokesperson of the state fire service, Hassan Adekunle, confirmed the two outbreaks on Tuesday.

“The fire crew arrived at the scene to find a fleet of trucks, some of which were already engulfed in flames. Through the gallant efforts of the firefighters, the fire was contained, limiting damage to three out of the 42 trucks in the garage. The Tanke incident was also halted from spreading to the second shop,” he said. He added that the director of the service, Prince Falade John, urged the public to ensure solar power setups are installed in well-ventilated, isolated locations to prevent fire hazards and remain vigilant always.