The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) confirmed on Monday that a fire swept through a market in the Ajah area, destroying numerous shops and goods valued at millions of naira.
Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, the agency’s Permanent Secretary, who confirmed the incident, said it took place late Sunday night near Alesh bus stop in Lekki, Lagos.
According to him, LASEMA received distress calls at around 9:30 p.m. and promptly dispatched its Emergency Response Team from the Lekki base.
Oke-Osanyintolu said responders arrived at the scene by 10:10 p.m. to find multiple shops filled with flammable goods ablaze.
While the exact cause of the fire remains unclear, there were no reported injuries or casualties.
“LASEMA in response to distress calls from the 767 and 112 toll-free lines at 09.30 hrs, activated its Emergency Response Team from Lekki Base.
“On arrival at the incident scene at 22.10 hrs, it was discovered that several shops and stores housing combustible materials were engulfed by fire.
“Investigations conducted revealed that the immediate cause of the fire could not yet be ascertained as at the time of writing this report. Fortunately, no casualties or injuries were recorded at the incident scene,” he said.
He said properties worth a fortune were destroyed in the inferno, adding that the agency and the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service were able to curtail the fire from escalating to adjoining buildings.
“While fighting the fire, we were simultaneously trying to manage the hostile crowd as the two are the only primary responders at the incident scene.
“The fire has been successfully extinguished by the emergency responders at the incident scene and the operation has been concluded,” he said.
KanyiDaily recalls that a fire recently broke out in a two-storey building at Dosunmu Market in the Lagos Island.
