Property worth millions of naira was destroyed yesterday following a fire outbreak at a building at popular Lagos fabrics market, Balogun Market, on Balogun Street, Lagos Island.
The fire, which began at around 11am, razed six mini flats on the third floor of a three storey building at House 48.
Some eyewitnesses said it could have been caused by an electrical fault as the fire began not long after electricity was restored to the area.
There were no occupants in the flats when the incident occurred but their properties were destroyed.
The affected building opposite First Bank Plc Balogun branch completely lost its roof.
Traders told The Nation that they hurriedly cleared their goods and called the emergency services as soon as they noticed the fire.
Mrs Yetunde Ayodele, a fabrics trader on the ground floor, said: “The fire started between 11am and noon. It began after the electricity came on. We didn’t have power since Tuesday, and soon as the lights came on, we heard something like sparks and not long afterwards we began to see smoke coming out of the flats on the third floor. People began to shout ‘Fire! Fire!!’. There was pandemonium. Some people brought fire extinguishers from some of the big shops around. Others assisted with water. The banks around also brought their fire fighting equipment. There was nobody in the flats, everyone had gone to work. I called one of the residents on phone, but she was in Ikorodu. The fire burnt everything, they could not salvage anything.”
Another trader, who declined to give her name, said: “As soon as I saw the fire, I called the emergency number 112. About three fire service trucks came, but it was the first one to arrive that put out the fire.”
Mrs Opeyemi Adewara, who occupied one of the flats with her husband and four children, told The Nation that she had lost everything.
She said: “I was at Ikorodu when someone called me that my house was on fire. Everything was completely burnt. Laptops, desktops, documents, clothes, household goods, everything. We have been living here for six years and nothing like this has happened before. Right now, I don’t know what to do because we have nowhere to stay, nowhere to lay our heads tonight. I would appreciate a little help from the government to help us get a temporary place and to get us on our feet.”
Her son, Michael said he was at a bank on the Island when his mum called him to check on the house.
“When I got there, the place was already completely burnt. There were emergency services officials everywhere – Lagos Urban Renewal Agency, Lagos State Emergency Response Agency, the police, Kick Against Indiscipline, Central Business District Officials – all of them were here. The fire services later asked for the names of everyone in the building. I told them before they left.”
PHOTO: ISAAC JIMOH AYODELE
