Many shops affected as fire guts 7-storey building in Lagos

Several shops have been affected as fire gutted a 7-storey building in Lagos State.

The incident happened on Friday, August 16, 2024, on Sanni Adewale Street in Lagos Island Local Government Area of the state.

A press statement issued by Margaret Adeseye, Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service affirmed that no life was lost during the fire incident.

It added that the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service received a distress call at 5:17 am and responded with firefighters from Ebute Elefun, Sari, and Lekki 1 stations, arriving at the scene by 05:33 am.

The statement reads: “On August 16th, 2024, at 05:17 hours, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service received a distress call regarding a fire outbreak at Sanni Adewale Street, located in the Lagos Island Local Government Area.

“The fire affected several shops within a 7-storey building. Firefighters from the Ebute Elefun, Sari, and Lekki 1 stations promptly responded, arriving at the scene by 05:33 hours.

“Thanks to the swift actions of the Lagos State Firefighters, the situation is now under control. Ventilation efforts are currently underway to ensure the safety of all in the area. Preliminary investigations suggest the fire was triggered by an electrical surge. Fortunately, no casualties have been reported.”

The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service had earlier revealed that a total of 50 lives were lost due to fire incidents in the state between January and June 2024, highlighting a disturbing trend of fire-related fatalities in the region.

This was stated in data made available to SaharaReporters by the Director of the Agency, Margaret Adeseye, adding that the state also witnessed the collapse of at least 10 buildings during this period.

According to the agency, eight persons died in January, four in February, five in March, eight in April, 23 in May, and two in June.

In the first half of 2024, the service responded to 1,085 fire rescue requests and rescued 223 casualties.

One of the fire incidents occurred at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in the Lekki Free Zone near Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre on June 26, 2024.