A devastating fire outbreak engulfed Dosumu Market located in the Lagos Island area of Lagos State, leaving a trail of destruction as it razed through 14 buildings on Tuesday.
Confirming the incident, Ibrahim Farinloye, the Lagos Territorial Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA), revealed that four out of the 14 affected buildings had collapsed at the time of reporting.
Farinloye attributed the cause of the fire to the negligent refuelling of a generator in the penthouse of one of the buildings. He expressed concern over the challenges faced by emergency responders in accessing some affected areas due to the intensity of the blaze.
“The fire started from the penthouse of one of the buildings where a man was carelessly refuelling a generator before it ignited and spread rapidly to other buildings. The presence of multiple generators in the building exacerbated the situation,” Farinloye explained.
Reports gathered by PUNCH Metro indicated that the fire, which began around 10 am, originated in a three-story building on Jankara Street before swiftly spreading to adjacent structures within the market premises.
Providing further details, Margaret Adeseye, the Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, corroborated NEMA’s assessment of the affected buildings. Adeseye highlighted the hazardous storage of fuel products and chemical materials within the building where the fire originated as factors that fueled its escalation.
“The cause of the fire was traced to refuelling a generator, among other factors, with fuel stored in kegs at the penthouse of a three-building complex housing a printing shop with chemical contents,” Adeseye elaborated.
Efforts by the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service successfully contained the major fire incident, with two structures fully collapsed and two partially collapsed. As damping operations continued, Adeseye cautioned the public to handle combustible materials with care to avert future fire disasters.
This unfortunate incident adds to a series of fire outbreaks witnessed in Lagos in recent months, underscoring the urgent need for enhanced fire safety measures and public vigilance in handling flammable materials.
