Fire guts car engine at Ilorin hotel

A vehicle caught fire late Wednesday at E-Phoenix Hotel, Tanke Junction, in the Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State, prompting an emergency response by the state fire service.

The Kwara State Fire Service confirmed the incident in a statement on Thursday, saying it received a distress call at 23:38hrs and dispatched firefighters to the scene.

The blaze, which affected the engine compartment of a Honda Accord with registration number DTH 753 AA, was extinguished by 00:15hrs — preventing it from spreading to nearby vehicles or parts of the hotel premises.

The service’s Public Relations Officer, Hassan Adekunle, said preliminary findings pointed to a fault in the vehicle’s wiring system as the likely cause, with a spark from the electrical components igniting flammable materials in the engine bay.

The Director of the Kwara State Fire Service, Alabi Muhammed, used the incident to caution motorists against neglecting vehicle maintenance, particularly electrical systems. He urged car owners to inspect and replace faulty wiring promptly, avoid makeshift electrical repairs, and keep portable fire extinguishers in their vehicles for early intervention.

The Ilorin fire is the latest in a series of incidents recorded in Kwara State in recent months. In March, an inferno destroyed three containerised shops at Eyenkorin Roundabout in Asa Local Government Area, while another fire hit a shop along Pakata Road in the Ita-Ogunbo area of Ilorin on April 11.