Property worth several millions were on Saturday destroyed when a newly established online radio station, Agidigbo Radio, went up in flames at Monatan , area of Ibadan .
The incident, which drew hundreds of residents , also caused stir as people ran over fear of the fire spreading to other buildings in the area.
The station was said to have been under locks and keys as of the time of the incident.
The proprietor of Agidigbo FM is Dr. Oriyomi Hamzat, a popular broadcaster in the city.
The Director, Oyo State Fire Service, Moshood Adewuyi, said the fire station was alerted around 11am.
According to him, firemen were mobilised to the scene following a distress call by residents of the community in the early hours of Saturday.
Adewuyi said: “It is true that the studio of the online radio station caught fire this morning; the place was under locks and keys on the arrival of our men.
“None of the workers of the radio station was around at the time of the outbreak.
“You know, a studio is always padded with foam. That aggravated the fire.”
Asked of the extent of damage at the radio station, he said: “We cannot quantify that. The transmitter; the studio equipment; and office materials at the station were damaged by the inferno.
“The people around there alerted us around 11am. One man was electrocuted. But, thank God, it was not much.
“What happened was that as soon as our men arrived at the scene, we directed our control room to instruct the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company to cut power supply to the area.
“Without getting supply from us, they restored power supply to the area. Majority of the people were already wet, and you know, water is a conductor of electricity. But thank God there was no casualty.”
Culled from The Nation
