Fire engulfs Lagos market, destroys several stores

A late Sunday night fire outbreak has destroyed “several shops and stores housing combustible materials” worth millions of naira at Ajah market in the Lekki area of Lagos, an emergency official said on Monday.

Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, permanent secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASMA), said the fire started on Sunday night at the market situated by Alesh bus-stop in the area.

According to the agency, no casualty or injury was recorded in the fire incident.

However, Mr Oke-Osanyintolu mentioned that “properties worth a fortune were destroyed in the inferno,” adding that they were able to prevent the fire from escalating to adjoining buildings.

Response

He said: “The LASEMA Response Team, alongside Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service were able to curtail the fire from escalating to adjoining buildings,” the statement reads.

“The LRT and Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, whilst fighting the fire, are simultaneously trying to manage the hostile crowd as the two are the only primary responders at the incident scene.”

As of 1:28 a.m., the agency, while giving a final update on the incident, said the “fire has been successfully extinguished by the emergency responders at the incident scene, and “operation concluded.”

Fire outbreaks in Lagos

Incidents requiring emergency responders in Lagos are not uncommon. On 16 August, a fire outbreak at Sanni Adewale Street, Lagos Island, affected several shops within a seven-storey building.

Also, in the same month, there was a fire outbreak involving a gas truck at a Mobil filling station, Allen Roundabout, near the Airport Hotel. The fire destroyed eight vehicles, including the gas truck.

In September, the Oko-Baba plank market in Ebute-Metta, Lagos, was engulfed by fire, destroying goods worth millions of naira

Also, recently, a fire disrupted the blue rail train services.