Over 294 shops were completely razed down after a night fire raged at the Oke-Afa Planks and Building Materials Market in the Ejigbo area of Lagos State on Friday.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency confirmed the incident in a statement on Saturday.
Although the cause of the inferno that started around 9 pm on Friday is yet to be ascertained, LASEMA said there was no record of casualties and no loss of lives.
Besides the 294 shops razed, other properties destroyed by the fire include two residential bungalows, a market mosque, three storage tanks, amongst others.
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‘Consequent upon the arrival of the Agency’s Responders at the scene of the incident, it was discovered that a plank market which consists of 378 shops at the above location was engulfed in a wild inferno on Friday night and continued raging till this morning, Saturday 18th, December 2021,” the statement read.
‘All efforts by the Agency’s Response Team, its Fire Men in collaboration with Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service to put out the fire and prevent it from spreading to adjoining buildings proved successful as the fire was curtailed from spreading further and put out completely.’
LASEMA Director-General, Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, sympathised with the shop owners and the residents of the affected buildings burnt by the fire.
He called on all the traders to ensure that going forward, their properties are well insured while urging Lagosians to be safety-conscious and vigilant especially during the harmattan season which is harsh and prone to fire incidents.
According to him, there is the need for Lagos residents to be very watchful and at alert to reduce the risk and vulnerability to fire outbreaks caused by the harsh harmattan season, because ’emergency management is everyone’s business’
This is even as he reiterated the commitment of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu’s administration in prioritising the safety of lives and properties of Lagosians.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK