* Six buildings allegedly collapse; Lagos suspends market activities

*We are finished, say traders, they store highly inflammable materials, LASEMA reacts

It was a pitiable sight yesterday, watching traders weeping helplessly as firefighters battled to put out the raging fire at Dosunmu Market, located at Docemo and Nnamdi Azikwe Streets in Lagos Island Local Council of Lagos State.

Their situation worsened when it happened that officers of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service (LSFRS) did not have enough water to combat the fire that consumed not less than 14 buildings in the area.

The Guardian gathered that the incident, which started at about 11:10a.m. and consumed goods and property worth several millions of naira was the second within 30 days in the market and twice in three days on the island.

An eye witness said the fire started from a generator spark on a penthouse.

According to the witness, the owner threw the generator and fuel away, which caused a huge spark that resulted in the fire outbreak.

Also, some of the traders, said the fire originated from a three-story building situated at Jankara Street, adjacent to Docemo Street before spreading to other buildings in the area.

Six buildings allegedly collapsed as shops and houses in an entire stretch of Docemo street in idumota, Lagos Island, engulfed in the inferno.

A trader, Abel Onwuka, who said he just stocked his shop a day before the incident, simply said, “I am finished.”

Another seller, Afusat Thomson declared that life which was so tough before will now turned into hell.

“Who will come to our aid now? Where can we start from now?” She asked rhetorically.

A shop and warehouse owner, Ifeanyi Obi, who deals on tailoring and designer materials, said: “My boys called to inform me that something was happening in Dosunmu Market. Before I rushed down to the market, all my shops and warehouse have finished, nothing came out of them.

“It’s surprising that this is happening two weeks after a fire incident happened in the area. I don’t know what is going on here. I lost a lot of money which I can’t quantify.

In his appeal, he said: “The government should look into how they are building houses in Lagos Island, it’s too congested. Once a building is affected, others will follow so, government should do something, it’s government alone that can handle the situation. “

Reacting, Director of LSFRS, Margaret Adeyeye said they faced additional challenges of ensuring safe evacuation of traders and the preservation of their merchandise within a densely populated area.

This, she said, necessitated rigorous crowd control measures that ensured no casualty was recorded in the incident.

Speaking with The Guardian, the coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Lagos Territorial Office, Ibrahim Farinloye, said: “There is a printing press on the last floor where the fire emanated. The owner was trying to refuel while the engine was on. There were lots of other generators in the area, so it exploded and quickly moved to other buildings.

“We are having the second fire outbreak in the area in 24 hours and this is an issue of safety.

“The traders must make safety their priority. They should also have a fire Marshal so that all of them can mobilise whenever there is an outbreak.”

Also, Permanent Secretary (PS), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said there are a lot of challenges because they stored highly flammable materials in their shops and they did not keep to safety rules and regulations.

Speaking about the response time, he said: “Our response time is swift, prompt, effective and efficient but the only challenge is the attitude and orientation of our people. For instance, when the fire incident occurred and it affected a generator they were fueling, instead of putting out the fire, they threw the fire out and in the process, it affected other properties. This is not acceptable, but we thank God for our aggressiveness in the way we carried out the response.”

On the lack of water to combat the fire, he said: “We mobilised the appropriate persons to contain the fire, so it’s not about water, we are dealing with highly flammable substances.

“Give kudos to your emergency respondents because we did everything humanly possible to ensure that we put out the fire.”

MEANWHILE, Lagos State government has directed that commercial activities in Dosunmu Street and its immediate environs be suspended immediately until further notice as a result of a fire incident which has engulfed the area. Special Adviser to the Governor on Central Business District (CBD), Mrs. Bola Olumegbon Lawal, said the measure became necessary to prevent loss of life and maintain peace and order.

She stressed that market women and men in the area should make way for emergency responders to effectively perform their duties

The fire brought down two buildings while efforts is on going to stop the raging fire.

The areas affected are Dosumu, Nnamdi Azikwe, Moshalashi, Woro Pedro, Obanikoro streets.

Others are Ago Tawa, Idumagbo Avenue, Idumagbo , Ido – Oluwo and Oju Olobun streets.