The Oyo State Fire Services Agency has disclosed that no fewer than a total of 30 bodies were recovered from fire incidents across the State in 2025.
Chairman of the agency who doubles as the Special Adviser on Fire Reform to Governor Seyi Makinde of the State, Dr Maroof Akinwande, who disclosed this during an interview with journalists in Ibadan, said 246 cases of fire incidents were recorded.
Akinwande, while giving breakdown of the rescue operations in the state in 2025, noted that 42 people were rescued alive from different locations during emergencies during the year under review, while 10 emergency false calls were received during the year.
He said that 29 cases of fire incidents were recorded in January, 27 in February, 22 in March, 24 in April, 24 in May and 17 cases in June.
He added that 15 cases of fire incidents were recorded in July, 14 in August, 24 in September, 13 in October, 13 in November and 21 cases in December.
He said that in total, 116 residential buildings were affected by fire while 38 shops were ravaged in 2025.
He also disclosed that 14 vehicles were destroyed by fire, while a total of 21 petroleum tankers were also affected by fire during the year.
Speaking further, Akinwande advised members of the public to always be conscious of their environment.
He advised residents of the state to take all precautions in order to avoid fire incidents.
He also disclosed that the Oyo State government led by Governor Makinde had ordered for the procurement of some equipment in order to ensure effective service delivery of the agency.
Akinwande said, “The total breakdown. We attended to 246 fire incidents in 2025. We received 10 false calls, I mean people that called us and we found out that it did not happen. We attended to 95 special services. We rescued alive 42 people. Victims recovered suspected dead was 30. Overall total is 353.
“We want to thank you the media for reporting our activities. It is to show people that these things are happening and people must be aware. It will help to motivate people to be safety conscious.
“Let me tell you that in order to ensure that we perform better, the Oyo State governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, has ordered for the procurement of some equipment.
“What the state government has done is that the state government has awarded the purchase of seven brand new fire fighting equipments to a contactor which we are expecting its delivery in the next three to six months.
“Fire fighting auxiliary have been paid for. Government has ordered for the purchase of tyres and battery for our vehicles.
“The governor has increased our operational cost. Not that one alone, the governor has approved the recruitment of 100 fire fighters. They are not undergoing training now.
“What the governor is saying is that if we have all those equipment and no one to handle them, it is as if you are doing nothing, so the governor has ordered for the recruitment of 100 fire fighters. We are operating 24 hours a day.”
“The governor is also trying to improve the standard of living of our men to encourage us to do more. These are the things the government is doing to ensure effective and efficient service delivery of the agency,” he added.
