Two people have been reportedly injured while about 94 shops were destroyed in a fire incident that razed a two storey building along Abeokuta Street, Ebute Metta area of Lagos.
The affected shops are located in a story building Shopping Complex opposite Presbyterian Church in Yaba area of the state.
The timely intervention of Lagos State Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA) and Lagos State Fire Service, and police as well put the inferno under control.
Properties worth millions of naira were also said to have been destroyed as the cause of the inferno was not yet ascertained as at the time of filling this report.
However, the fire according to an eye witness account started from one of the building’s first floor apartment room before dawn of Sunday, destroying some households before been curtailed by LASEMA who also rescued people out of the fire.
The two male adults who sustained minor injuries were treated by LASEMA medical team while rescue mission continued.
Beside, officials from the LASEMA disclosed that the shopping complex inferno destroyed 94 out of 201 shops and that the incident was reported to have began at about one o’clock in the morning, from one of the shops behind the complex which was discovered to have been filled only with women wears.
A trader occupying one of the affected shops said that those razed shops’ owners were not available to count their lost and that it was only officials from the LASEMA that were allowed to gain accesses into the fire scene.
The General Manager, LASEMA, Adesina Tiamiyu, noted that the fire outbreak was exacerbated by an highly inflammable materials and other forces from one of the affected shops were responsible for the inferno, adding that, accessibility to fire scene was also another impediment that delay curtailing of the fire despite it swift response to the inferno report.
He however advised market leaders to ensure that their members are continuously sensitized on safety and prevention as well as ensuring that electrical appliances are put off after the close of business.
