Seven buildings and 30 shops have been razed in a fire outbreak in Mushin area of Lagos, Southwest Nigeria on Saturday.
The fire outbreak started at 16 Ladipo Street, Mushin and spread to other adjoining buildings and shops.
Director General, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu said the agency received distress calls to the 767/112 and responded to the report and that upon arrival at the scene of incident, it was discovered that a mattress shop was the initial source of the fire.
“The flames subsequently escalated to other closely adjoining shops and the joint responders led by the Agency DG/CEO, Nigeria Police, LASG fire, LRU fire, LNSC worked together to curtail the inferno from escalating to more adjoining buildings.
“There have been severe operational challenges due to huge crowds who have failed to comply with authorities and maintain appropriate distance for responders to work freely,” he said.
Oke-Osanyintolu said the closely located buildings had proven to be a challenge for curtailing the spread of the fire.
“A single storey building with 6 rooms and 4 shops; 5 bungalows with 26 shops; a bungalow with 3 bed room flat were affected.
“These severely affected buildings are being levelled to ground zero with the aid of the agency’s heavy-duty equipment while the LRU fire and LASG fire service are damping down in order to prevent any secondary incident due to visible cracks on the walls of the buildings due to the intensity of the fire,” he said.
