The Balogun Market fire disaster that gutted a four storey plaza and later spread to other seven adjoining buildings in the heart of Lagos on Wednesday, rages on with millions of goods and properties lost while men of the state fire services are still battling to extinguish the inferno.
According to the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), the fire was ignited as a result of improper storage of fuel by some of the occupants of the building.
Already, two of the seven buildings have collapsed as a result of the intensity of the inferno while many traders were busy trying to salvage part of their goods.
In a tweet on its verified Twitter handle, @lasemasocial, the emergency agency said on arrival at the incident scene at Martins Street, besides Great Nigeria Limited, Leventis Bus Stop, Lagos Island, it was discovered that a four storey plaza had been gutted by fire.
“Cause was identified as resulting from improperly stored fuel. This fire escalated to adjoining buildings totaling seven (7) in number and is being contained by the Emergency responders i.e LASG Fire Service and the Federal Fire Service and NPA Fire Service. Seven buildings are affected and two have collapsed,” LASEMA tweeted.
Eye witness account said the fire was sparked when one of the traders within the plaza trying to refill his generator without putting it off.
Many of the traders could be seen carting away some of their goods in a bid to reduce losses and prevent hoodlums from looting their goods.
CEO of LASEMA, Olufemi Osanyintolu said the agency is pulling down about four of the building affected by the inferno to ground zero, including the two buildings that came down on its own.
He said the fire was ignited by attempt by one of the traders in the building trying to refill his generators that was on, sparking fire in the process,
Asked to estimate the cost of loses as a result of the fire incident, Osanyintolu said ‘it is amulti-billion naira loss.”
He said his men are still on ground to ensure that the building are pulled down to ground zero in other to prevent further accident in the area.
