Fire wrecks havoc in Lagos...cars, buildings burnt down

A midday inferno, on Thursday, razed a building on No. 15 Adebiyi Street, Magodo Phase 1, Lagos State, destroying properties worth mil...

A midday inferno, on Thursday, razed a building on No. 15 Adebiyi Street, Magodo Phase 1, Lagos State, destroying properties worth millions of naira.

According to eyewitnesses, the fire started around noon and razed two flats on the upper floor of the one-storey building.

The inferno could have wreaked more havoc but for the timely intervention of the men of the Lagos State Fire Service, an eyewitness said.

"From our workshop, we saw thick fumes from the fire and we quickly mobilised the boys in the area to extinguish the fire. We thank God that we were able to put it out to a reasonable extent and we also thank the fire service personnel, who arrived promptly to extinguish the fire completely. Nobody died or was injured but properties were destroyed," he stated.



An occupant of the building, who declined to give her name, said the fire was as a result of an electrical spark in one of the flats due to fluctuating power supply.

She said, "The fire was as a result of an electrical spark. I was only able to run out with my phone and laptop, because I did not notice it early enough

"We have lost everything to the fire. Not even a pin was salvaged from the apartments. We lost money, documents and properties. As I speak to you now, we are left with nothing and only God knows where we are going to lay our heads tonight."

A resident of the area, Sodiq Fatai, accused the electricity distribution company in charge of the area of not addressing the issue of erratic power supply, which led to the incident.

"We've been having issues with electricity supply for more than four months now. We have called the attention of the electricity distribution company to it, all to no avail. Power had been fluctuating since morning and that was what led to the electrical spark that caused the fire; the electricity distribution company is our major problem," he said.

There was another fire outbreak around the mechanic workshop on Olatunde Onimole Street, by Censors Market, Aguda, Surulere, Lagos, on Thursday.

Residents alleged that the inferno emanated from a local gas refuelling shop in the area.

The fire was said to have burnt cars parked around the area as well as other properties.

When the spokesperson for the Lagos State Fire Service, Mrs Bola Ajao, was contacted, she confirmed the two incidents, stating that officials of the service were deployed to put the situations under control.

She stated, "At Magodo, the fire started from the upper flat of the main building and our Alausa station responded around 12.29pm. The station was later supported by the Ikeja Fire Station. The fire was contained to the flat, while other apartments were saved from burning.

"The call for the Surulere fire outbreak was received at the same time as that of Magodo. The Sari Iganmu and Ilupeju fire stations responded around 12.38pm. Four vehicles and three motorcycles were burnt. The affected area was a mechanic workshop, while a mosque and bungalow were partially affected."

The acting Director, Lagos State Fire Service, Rasaki Musibau, advised residents of the state to be fire safety conscious and empower themselves with basic firefighting devices so as to prevent colossal loss of lives and property.