Millions of naira worth of property were destroyed on Sunday afternoon as fire ravaged a storey building in the Mushin area of Lagos State.
The building, located at 21 Oduntan Street, Mushin, was said to have caught fire due to a gas leak from one of the flats on the upper floor.
The damage was limited to the first floor, thanks to the efforts of emergency responders who were dispatched to the scene.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) confirmed the fire in a statement signed by its Permanent Secretary, Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, and shared with the Nigerian Tribune on Sunday.
The agency stated, “In response to distress calls about a fire outbreak received at 14:30 hours via the CRM on 767/112 Toll-Free Emergency numbers, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) activated the State’s Emergency Response Plans and its Emergency Response Team from Cappa Base.”
ALSO READ: Angry mob sets car ablaze over pedestrian’s death in Lagos
Upon arrival at 14:34 hours, LASEMA’s Eagle Response Team discovered that a two-storey building, comprising two units of 3-bedroom flats on the second floor, had been gutted by fire. The fire reportedly started from the front flat before spreading to the back flat at the aforementioned address.
According to the LASEMA boss, “Preliminary investigations conducted by the Agency’s Eagle Response Team attributed the immediate cause of the fire to a gas leak from a gas cylinder in one of the flats on the second floor.”
He emphasized that, “Fortunately, there was no loss of life attributed to the incident. No injuries were sustained as a result of the fire.”
The LASEMA boss also stressed, “The quick response and intervention of LASEMA’s Eagle Response Team, alongside the LRU Fire Unit and other responders, prevented the fire from spreading to other buildings, while officials of the Nigeria Police Force secured the area and conducted crowd control.”
The entire roof and ceilings were razed by the fire, and the personal belongings of the occupants were also destroyed.
Valuables and money discovered by the LRU firefighters during the Search and Rescue Operation were duly handed over to the owners immediately at the scene.
A comprehensive damage assessment was conducted by LASEMA’s Eagle Response Team, the LRU Fire Unit, and the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, covering the affected area.
Occupants of the destroyed building were sensitized on the safe use of gas cylinders, electrical appliances, and the importance of regular repairs to prevent future incidents.
and then