An
early morning fire on Sunday razed 94 out of the 201 shops located at the
popular Yaba Market in Lagos, opposite the Presbyterian Church, destroying
goods and property worth billions of naira.
The
fire was said to have started from one of the shops at the back side of the
complex where wears, shoes and bags were stored.
It
was also gathered that the fire exacerbated and spread to other shops because
of some highly inflammable materials such as wears stored in the shops, as well
as air conditioners and generators filled with fuel. These caused occasional
explosions as the fire raged the shops, it was.
This
prompted the immediate activation of the Lagos State Emergency Management
Agency’s (LASEMA) Emergency Response Team (ERT) as well as the Lagos State Fire
Service from Ilupeju and Alausa Fire Stations.
While
the emergency teams were battling to contain the flames, many shop owners were
alerted and they tried to salvage some of their wares.
Meanwhile,
some policemen were deployed from Sabo and Adekunle Police Stations to deter
some miscreants, who were lurking around, from looting people’s goods.
Confirming
the incident, LASEMA General Manager, Mr. Adesina Tiamiyu, who said no life was
lost, also said they were involved in salvaging some items.
He
said shops barricaded with iron bars were cut open using concrete cutter for
the fire service to gain access to the affected areas and also prevent further
escalation.
Tiamiyu
said a total number of 117 shops were salvaged by the emergency responders even
though the emergency responders also had problem of accessing some of the shops
due to iron bars used as security doors.
Source:Thisday
Newspaper
Tags
Business