FIRE GUTS BALOGUN MARKET, MARKETERS HELPLESS

Millions of naira worth of goods went up in flames as fire razed the popular Balogun Market on Lagos Island, Southwest Nigeria.

There was weeping and wailing as the fire rose in the sky with thick smokes bellowing the atmosphere Tuesday in the central market district.
Officials of the Lagos State Fire Service, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, battled to quell the raging inferno.

Fire service officials and other rescue agencies had the crowd who thronged the scene to contend with before carrying out their duties effectively.

It was a helpless situation as traders watched their investments went up in flame.
The LASEMA team and other responders despite all difficulties, tried to contain the fire from spreading to other buildings.

A LASEMA’s spokesman, Nosa Okunbor said emergency responders were on top of the situation as the fire which has affected almost every section of both buildings is at risk of spreading to other buildings next to them due to proximity and closeness to each other.

“It is a situation which presented peculiar difficulties to responders to access the source of the fire in order to effectively put it out on time. Despite obstacles of inaccessibility via roads and setbacks, as all the affected buildings are continuously built together in a conjoined manner, the combined efforts of LASEMA Response Team, Lagos State Fire Service, UBA Fire Service and Federal Fire Service are on ground with the DG/CEO LASEMA, Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, mustering and marshalling all necessary equipment and manpower in battling the raging fire,” he says.

The cause of the fire outbreak which started from a 3-storey commercial building of lock-up shops in the market is yet to be ascertained.

“So far there are no casualties, no fatalities and no injuries. Also, there’s been nobody trapped in any of the commercial buildings. Recovery operations still ongoing with the Skylight Fighter Truck fully activated and deployed to aid swift recovery, as dampening commences,” he adds.