Fire destroys 30 shops and goods in Lagos market

Goods worth millions of naira were, on Sunday, destroyed by fire, which wreaked havoc on over 30 shops in the Owode-Onirin Market along the Ikorodu Road, Lagos State.

The fire, which started from one of the shops in the metal section of the market, spread to other shops and destroyed goods worth millions of naira.The shop owners were left in agony as a result of the loss of their property and goods.

PUNCH Metro learnt that no life was lost to the inferno.

The Director General, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, stated that the cause of the fire could not be ascertained as the market was said to have not had power supply since 2017.

He added that the fire was curtailed by the combined effort of LASEMA, the Lagos State Fire Service, residents and shop owners.

Oke-Osanyintolu said, “Though the cause of the fire in the expansive market has not been ascertained, the distress call to the agency’s toll free emergency numbers, 767 and 112, ensured the quick response of LASEMA, its fire unit and the Lagos State Fire Service, an action that quickly curtailed the rapidly spreading fire before it could escalate to other parts of the huge metal and spare parts market.

“The LASEMA response team and other first responders succeeded in battling the raging fire to a quick stop, dousing the palpable tension and panic it had caused earlier.

“The cause of the fire though could not immediately be ascertained, but traders said it could not have been a result of power surge as the Owode-Onirin Market was said to have been without power supply since 2017.

“While the extent of damage could not be quantified immediately due to the interwoven manner in which the shops were constructed, responders at the scene of the incident estimated that about 30 shops were razed as of the time the recovery operation commenced. A proper enumeration will be conducted after the fire must have been totally extinguished and dampening down completed.”

In another development, a detached electrical wire caused a fire outbreak under the Odo-Iya Alaro Bridge, Maryland, inward Ojota.

LASEMA said a 32KVA wire detached from the pole and the impact resulted in a fire incident after it fell off on some combustible items.

It added that the fire was immediately extinguished by the Federal Fire Service and Lagos Fire Service personnel, adding that no injuries or loss of life was recorded in the incident. Punch