Four Buildings Collapse in Lagos, 10 Others in Distress After Inferno

Esther Oluku

The Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Olufunke Osanyintolu, has confirmed that no casualty was recorded in the Dosunmu market fire that affected 14 buildings in Lagos Island, yesterday.

Four buildings collapsed after the raging fire was put out. Ten other buildings are distressed, according to emergency authorities.

Osanyintolu disclosed this in a statement, noting that while no injury was recorded.

However, a woman collapsed at the scene and was promptly attended to by paramedics of the Lagos emergency service before being moved to the Marina General Hospital for further care.

Sources at the scene of the building collapse said the fire started when the generator of the owner of a printing firm, identified as Uche, caught fire while he was trying to refuel it. The fire spread to other generators on a penthouse of a three-building complex and an adjoining structure.

Official sources at the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, revealed that the fire could have been aggravated by kegs of fuel, including other chemics stored around the penthouse.

A director at the fire and rescue service, Ms. Margaret Adeseye, explained that while firefighters were able to contain the fire, two buildings collapsed completely as a result of the intensity of the fire. Two other buildings “partially collapsed.”

Adeseye, in a statement, noted that the collaborative efforts of safety agencies led to the prompt putting out of the fire.

The statement said, “Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service has successfully contained a major fire incident affecting 14 buildings, with two structures fully collapsed and two partially collapsed. The cause was traced to refuelling a generator among others, with fuel storage in kegs at the penthouse of a three-building complex housing a printing shop with chemical contents.

“Swift firefighting operations by the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service which has now moved to damping down strategy, mitigating all threats and ensuring public safety. Enumeration of shops and goods lost are ongoing, and preventive measures will be enforced.”

Meanwhile, Ibrahim Farinloye, the Lagos territorial coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said the inferno seriously affected 14 other buildings.