Fire destroys houses, Lagos police station

A twin fire incident on the Lagos Island and Okokomaiko areas of Lagos State on Tuesday destroyed several property including houses, a section of a police station, a diesel-laden truck, and a generator house belonging to a hotel.

PUNCH Metro gathered from a statement by the Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, on Tuesday, that the fire incidents were caused by negligence.

According to Adeseye, the first incident which occurred around 8 am on Tuesday, gutted a three-storey building in the popular Docemo market on the Lagos Island area of the state leaving the top floor area of the building destroyed.

A video of the incident sighted by our correspondent showed the roof of the building removed and the windows shattered.

The second fire was said to have occurred in the Okokomaiko area and was caused by negligence on the part of a tanker driver who had gone to deliver product to a network mast.

She stressed that the first fire was caused by an electrical surge while the second fire was caused by non-adherence to safety measures by the tanker driver.

Adeseye said, “The first fire which was alerted at 08:15 hours to No 2, Ido Oluwo, Lagos Island, at the topmost floor of a three-storey building in the ever-busy Docemo market area was doused by the combined efforts of Ebute Elefun and Dolphin fire stations to the delight of the occupants.

“The second emergency erupted at 12:25 hours from a 33,000 diesel tanker which came to supply an adjoining hotel to Okokomaiko Police Station on Lagos-Badagry Expressway, Okokomaiko, Lagos as the Ojo and Ijegun-Egba fire stations responded to the emergency to salvage the occupants of the hotel and police station from the threat of the ensuing fire.

“Both incidents could be attributed to negligence. The former resulted from an electrical surge, while the latter occurred due to a safety infraction by the tanker operator, who did not allow for a cool-off before transmitting engine power takeoff. “

The LSFRS boss concluded that “fortunately, there was no record of injury or casualties, as both fires had been put out and operations concluded.”

In a further update by the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, the Okokomaiko fire incident reportedly spread to adjoining buildings and burnt down three buildings.

The PS also added that a section of the Okokomaiko Police Station was destroyed by the fire.

He continued, “Further investigation revealed that the diesel tanker, laden with 10,000 litres of diesel was supplying a network mast at the aforesaid location when it caught fire while discharging its contents.

“However, the fire reportedly spread to adjoining buildings one of which is the Okokomaiko Police Station due to negligence.”

Oke-Osanyintolu identified the damaged property as “an oil tanker laden with 10,000litres of diesel, nine offices were affected in the Okokomaiko Police Station, and three bungalows were completely burnt down when the fire reignited with household properties worth hundreds of thousands of naira.

“One lock-up shop and four containerised shops were also burnt down, a generator house of an unknown hotel and their kitchen was affected, and cables of a PHCN transformer nearby were also affected.”

He concluded that no life was lost in the incident.