A source said the fire started around 2 am .
He said , “ The fire began at a point we have not yet identified and spread to the locked up shops in the market . We believe it was caused by a power surge. No one was around when it started . ”
The source added that the fire would not have wrecked much havoc if the men of the Ondo State Fire Service had responded on time when a distress call was put across to them.
Another source said some of the affected traders had just stocked their shops in preparation for the Yuletide .
One of the affected traders , Mr . Paul Emmanuel , who described the incident as tragic , said he rushed down to the market when he was informed that his shop had been gutted by fire .
“ So many goods worth millions of naira have been lost . This is very painful because Christmas is just around the corner.
“ We called the fire service office on the telephone , but they didn ’ t pick their calls on time and we had to drive down to their office to drag them here , ” he said .
Another trader , Mrs. Abimbola Adesanya , appealed to the state Governor , Rotimi Akeredolu , to assist the victims with funds to cushion the effect of the disaster .
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state , Mr . Femi Joseph , who confirmed the incident , said the matter was not reported to the police
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