An eyewitness has said the fire incident that razed several spare parts shops at Aguiyi Ironsi International Market, in the Ladipo area of Lagos State, started at about 10pm on Friday night and lasted till the early hours of Saturday.
The fire which razed some sections of the Never Give Up and Bakassi line in the spare parts market could not, as of the time of this report, be attributed to any cause. According to traders in the market, there had been no electricity supply to the market in the past two months.
No life was lost but about three persons sustained injuries. According to the chairman of the market, Chief Emmanuel Mbamara, the major tragedy is the loss of goods worth millions of naira.
The eyewitness, Chukwuebuka, said, “The fire outbreak started suddenly around 10pm yesterday. I was here. A lot of shops got burnt. We were trying to put out the fire but it was impossible.
“The fire was sporadic, it burned one section of Never Give Plaza then jumped to the plaza opposite it.
“The fire burned gear boxes, engines. In fact, one of the victims wanted to die last night. He had to be rushed to the hospital. I don’t think this fire is ordinary.”
He added that the Lagos State fire service responded at about 11pm that night but due to lack of entrance, it was impossible for them to swiftly put off the fire.
Another eyewitness who deals in spare parts in the market identified as Chikezie said he is suspicious of the source of the fire, noting that the market has been unconnected to a power supply for two months.
However, he added that the fire outbreak was aggravated by the gas cookers used by food vendors in the market.
Speaking with The PUNCH, he said, “People used gas a lot in this area yesterday. I think it added to the severity of the explosion. I was here till 4am last night. The fire was so much that as the Fire Service was quenching an area it was exploding in other areas.”
The PUNCH, from various eyewitness accounts, gathered that the traders believe the fire outburst was not ordinary but the Chairman of the market, Mbamara, said the outbreak could be attributed to faulty connections.
In his words, “Many things could have caused the fire outbreak, poor connection of electricity and at times human error.
“Some people believe this was a case of sabotage where someone deliberately instigated the fire but I’m not sure what caused this disaster.
“Our investigation is ongoing and maybe before the end of today, the truth will surely come out.
“There were no casualties recorded but about three people sustained injuries. We never lost any life but we lost billions of Naira. That is the major tragedy we incurred.
“Gear box, engines, body parts, radiator, car stereo were burnt. You can go to a shop here and the shop could be valued at more than 100 million naira, so we lost a whole lot. It is a very big tragedy.”
At the scene of the incident were the Lagos State Fire Service and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps who said they were there to ensure that no properties were lost.
Speaking with a representative of the Lagos State Fire Service, ASF Akande, he stated that the situation had been contained and the fire put out.
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