Fire Guts 94 Shops in Yaba Market, Destroys Several Goods

Chiemelie Ezeobi

An early morning fire on Sunday razed 94 out of the 201 shops located at the popular Yaba Market in Lagos, opposite the Presbyterian Church, destroying goods and property worth billions of naira.

The fire was said to have started from one of the shops at the back side of the complex where wears, shoes and bags were stored.

It was also gathered that the fire exacerbated and spread to other shops because of some highly inflammable materials such as wears stored in the shops, as well as air conditioners and generators filled with fuel. These caused occasional explosions as the fire raged the shops, it was.

This prompted the immediate activation of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency’s (LASEMA) Emergency Response Team (ERT) as well as the Lagos State Fire Service from Ilupeju and Alausa Fire Stations.

While the emergency teams were battling to contain the flames, many shop owners were alerted and they tried to salvage some of their wares.

Meanwhile, some policemen were deployed from Sabo and Adekunle Police Stations to deter some miscreants, who were lurking around, from looting people’s goods.

Confirming the incident, LASEMA General Manager, Mr. Adesina Tiamiyu, who said no life was lost, also said they were involved in salvaging some items.

He said shops barricaded with iron bars were cut open using concrete cutter for the fire service to gain access to the affected areas and also prevent further escalation.

Tiamiyu said a total number of 117 shops were salvaged by the emergency responders even though the emergency responders also had problem of accessing some of the shops due to iron bars used as security doors.