Fire Guts Mart, Hotel, Police Station In Lagos
A fire outbreak on Tuesday gutted the topmost floor of a three-storey building at Number 2, Ido Oluwo, Lagos Island, in the bustling Docemo Market area of Lagos State, resulting in a tragic New Year’s Eve incident.
In a separate occurrence, a 33,000-litre diesel tanker caught fire while discharging its content at an adjoining hotel near the Okokomaiko Police Station on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, Ojo area of the state.
Men of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, along with other emergency responders, swiftly contained the raging fires, preventing them from spreading to nearby sections and buildings. Fortunately, no loss of life was recorded in either incident.
According to eyewitnesses, the Docemo Market fire broke out at about 8:45 am, causing significant damage to affected properties. This incident follows a similar fire earlier in the year at the same market, which resulted in extensive destruction of goods and property worth millions of naira. The market was subsequently sealed off for a period to conduct integrity tests on several buildings to ensure safety.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu later provided relief to the victims of the previous incident through cash compensation.
The second emergency occurred around 12:25 pm when the diesel tanker ignited while discharging its content. Firefighters from the Ojo and Ijegun-Egba Fire Stations promptly responded to the scene, salvaging the occupants of the hotel and the police station from the threat posed by the inferno.
Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Mrs. Margaret Adeseye, attributed both incidents to negligence. She explained that the Docemo fire resulted from an electrical surge, while the tanker fire occurred due to a safety infraction by the operator, who failed to allow the necessary cooling-off period before engaging the engine power take-off.
“Fortunately, there were no injuries or casualties. Both fires have been extinguished, and operations have been concluded,” Adeseye stated.
