No fewer than 11 shops were affected by a fire outbreak that led to the destruction of goods worth millions of naira at the Alayabiagba boundary market in the Ajegunle area of Lagos State.
The incident was believed to have occurred on Tuesday due to an explosion in one of the gas shops from a leaked gas cylinder.
Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu disclosed that properties worth a fortune were destroyed in the inferno as the agency was able to prevent escalation to adjoining buildings.
He remarked that no casualty or injury was recorded in the fire incident.
According to him, “In response to distress calls via the 767/112 Toll-Free Emergency numbers at 0920hrs, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, activated its response Team from Onipanu Base.
“Upon the arrival of the Eagle response team at the incident scene by 0937hrs, it was observed that some shops at the Alayabiagba market were engulfed by fire.”
Oke-Osayintolu said, “Investigations conducted revealed that the explosion originated from a gas retailer’s shop where gas cylinders of various sizes were stored.”
He added that fire emanated from gas leakage from one of the cylinders before spreading to other shops in the market.
He, however, revealed that the inferno was contained through collaborative efforts of the Cobra Team and the firemen at the scene which prevented it from spreading to adjoining buildings.
He added that the dampening down and rescue operation was conducted with other sister agencies to control the fire and manage the crowd at the scene of the incident.
According to the permanent secretary, the agencies involved include the COBRA Response Team from Onipanu, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Federal Fire Service, Dangote Fire Service, Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps (LNSC), Lagos State Ambulance Service and men of the Nigeria Police Force.
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