• Traders lament losses
An early morning fire, yesterday, gutted a four-storey building used as residential and shops for sale of fabrics at Dosunmu Street, the Idumota area of Lagos Island, Lagos State.
It was gathered that the incident started at about 7:01a.m. Further investigation revealed that the immediate cause of the fire was due to a power surge after electricity was restored.
The Guardian learnt that the fire, which started at No. 47 Dosunmu Street, escalated to four buildings at No 45, 47, 49A and 49B at Dosunmu Street, Lagos Island, while the building at No. 47 collapsed as a result of the impact of the fire.
A statement by the Director, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service (LSFRS), Margaret Adeseye, said the agency was alerted to the fire at about 7:41a.m. and emergency services swiftly mobilised.
“Upon arrival at about 07:58a.m, it was discovered that the fire encompasses the buildings, including two 2-storey structures and one three-storey building.
“Currently, firefighting efforts are underway at the scene. The fire stations at Ebute Elefun, Ilupeju, and Alausa have deployed resources to mitigate the situation effectively,” Adeseye said.
She added that the cause of the fire is yet to be known, and no casualties have been recorded.Her words: “The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, and investigations are ongoing. Casualties have not been confirmed at this time.
“We urge residents to cooperate with emergency personnel and avoid the area for their safety.” Also, confirming the incident, Permanent Secretary Lagos State Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA), Dr. Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu, said responders are currently combating the fire to prevent further escalation to other adjoining buildings.
He said: “The LASEMA response team at Lekki alongside LRU Fire, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Federal Fire Service, Nigerian Ports Authority Fire men, LASAMBUS Officials, LNSC officials, Central Business District (CBD) crew and Nigeria Police Force are all responders present at the scene of the incident under the supervision of the Commissioner for Special Duties and Internal Generated Revenue (IGR), Mr Gbenga Oyerinde.”
Speaking, Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Lagos Territorial Office, Ibrahim Farinloye, said their major problem is the inability of the firemen to access the source of the fire, adding that traders were only concerned about security and not about fire emergencies.
When asked about the cause of the fire, he said: “There is no way anyone can know because it started at about 5:00 a.m.”
The building has varieties of goods ranging from tailoring materials, nylons and others. The buildings are also used as warehouses. So far, no injury or human casualty has been recorded.”
On why shops were still left to flourish in the area after the government promised to bring them down following the Balogun fire incident, he said: “If you compare what happened at that time to this time, there is positive improvement. If it were like before, we wouldn’t have access to the scene of this outbreak.
“After Mandela’s incident, we have to roll out and the ones here will soon go because the Lagos State government gave all the marketers four weeks to get the attachments off the road, so we can have access to the scene of the fire.
“Most importantly, the traders should know what is security and what is safety. They take security more seriously than safety, but safety of their goods is much more important.
“When you have a warehouse and lock up the whole place, it can generate heat. This is because heat is a fuel. When there is no ventilation in the stores, fire can spark up.
“We are campaigning that the traders should contribute N5000 each to procure a fire hydrant instead of going to Guinness to get water. There is no fire hydrant in the whole of this area. So, we have to go to Guinness, replenish and come back.
Meanwhile, traders at the market have lamented huge losses as a result of the fire. Some of them were seen risking their lives to rescue goods from the fire despite warnings from responders. One of them, Chukwuebuka Ojilibe, lamented huge losses of goods running to several millions of naira.
He also affirmed that NEMA has asked that traders contribute money for water hydrants. He said: “I have not contributed, I don’t know if anyone has contributed or not.
I think having a water hydrant in the market will help combat fire incidents.” When asked about insurance, he said: “Some traders subscribed to insurance and I think it’s the best.”
In January, about 6,700 traders lost their goods to a fire that gutted the popular Mandilas building on Broad Street, Lagos Island Local Council.
According to NEMA, 450 shops, 30 offices, two hotels, and five restaurants were also destroyed by the impact of the fire, which affected the 14-storey building.
