Help! Lagos Fire Incidences Are Increasing!
MANY Lagosians would not forget last
Tuesday in a hurry. Five fire incidences
were recorded and properties worth
billions of naira were destroyed.
Although no life was lost, the
occurrences have again highlighted the
important elements of preparedness and
knowledge of what to do during a fire,
and prompt response from fire services.
The popular Prince Ebeano Supermarket
on Admiralty Way, Lekki, was one of the
casualties of Terrible Tuesday. The fire
began around 4pm. By nighttime, the
once flourishing mart had been razed.
Despite the combined efforts of the Lagos
State fire service and sympathisers, the
fire consumed everything in its path.
Some people in the area pointed
accusing fingers at the fire service for
failing to respond quickly to their
distress calls. They also complained that
Lekki doesn’t have a fire service station
and that the trucks that eventually
arrived did so without water.
Responding, spokesperson for the Lagos
State Fire Service, Mr. Amodu Shakiru,
dismissed the allegations as mere
fabrications. He said the service can
only respond to a fire when it is called
and that no such notice was received
until after 5pm. According to him, the
service responded immediately with a
compressed Air Foam System from its
station at Ogonbo in Lekki Phase II. He
added that contrary to insinuations, the
service has a new and modern station in
Lekki, and that following the arrival of
the first fire truck, call was made to
headquarters as well as the Onikan
station, and another 10,000 liters of
water was deployed to the scene.
He blamed late arrival of the fire service
on heavy traffic at the Lekki axis and
refusal by road users to give way to
emergency vehicles. He regretted that the
supermarket had no fire extinguishers,
sensors, or water reservoir, which might
have aided the firefighting efforts.
“We can’t go to any scene of a fire
without water. If we do, area boys and
hoodlums would beat up our men. So,
people that are saying we didn’t respond
with water are not saying the truth,”
said Shakiru.
When The Guardian visited the
supermarket, the following day, the gates
were locked and only the workers were
allowed access. Fierce-looking security
men manned the gates, turning
onlookers and journalists away. Workers
were seen removing items from the
building. Upon enquiry, they disclosed
they were moving them to another
branch at Chevron, refusing to say more.
While Ebeano burnt, traders at Oko-Oba
in the Ebute Metta area faced similar
predicament. The inferno, which started
at about 3pm, razed goods worth
millions of naira. The traders were
unsure what caused the blaze. What was
clear, however, was that the wood and
related products sold at the place fueled
the fire, which raged on for hours.
One trader, who refused to give her
name, accused the fire service of not
responding to their distress calls. Many
of the traders were seen lamenting their
losses and staring sadly into space as the
fire licked up their businesses.
Again, Shakiru refuted the traders’
allegation, saying four tankers from the
Yaba, Sari-Iganmu and Alausa stations
responded to the call. He added that a
director of the fire service personally led
the operation and even asked the
assistance of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc.
In yet another tale of woe, about 25
families were rendered homeless when a
fire razed buildings at the Ajegunle area.
The blaze started at No1 Freedom Street
and quickly spread to No 171, Orodo
Street.
According to eyewitnesses, the fire
started when a welder attempted to fix a
cage intended for the storage of petrol
cans. Reports say the owner of the cage,
a woman, whose illegal sale of the highly
inflammable liquid had previously
drawn condemnation from residents,
fled the area, after a resultant spark led
to a huge blaze.
According to Shakiru, a passerby had
called the fire service, which could do
nothing to salvage the situation by the
time it arrived. No life was lost. The
affected residents pleaded with the
government to come to their aid.
Also on the same day, another fire was
recorded at Church Street, Ojuolobun,
Lagos Island. Six shops went up in
flames following an electrical fault. The
fire service was, however, able to save
three of the shops from being razed
completely.
Shakiru urged Lagosians to be cautious
about fire. He regretted that many people
who make distress calls mislead
responders by giving wrong descriptions
and urged people to learn the state’s
emergency numbers and use them when
necessary. He added that calls must
provide the number of the street, nearest
bus stop and landmarks, to facilitate
quick access.
“Government cannot do everything. We
have to be conscious of our environment
and play our parts in preventing fire
outbreaks as much as possible. Nobody
prays it should happen to him or her.
But let us be prepared as much as we
can. Instead of shouting and trying to
loot, call the fire service immediately,”
he said.
A week after Fiery Tuesday, Sara Foam
Nigeria Limited at Kirikiri Industrial
Estate, Apapa, was gutted by fire. It was
the second of such incidents to hit the
factory in less than three months. The
fire, which started at around 5pm,
destroyed four buildings within the
factory premises.
Shakiru confirmed that fire services
from Orile, Sari-Iganmu and Ojo as well
as the Federal Fire Service and Julius
Berger, battled to put out the blaze,
which raged late into the night. Again,
no life was lost.
With Yuletide around the corner,
Shakiru said the fire department would
commence strict enforcement of safety
regulations.
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