A late-night fire on Tuesday engulfed several lock-up shops in a two-storey building at 155 Olojo Drive, opposite Tantalizers, within the Alaba International Market, Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State.
Confirming the incident, Maria Fadairo, Senior Public Affairs Officer of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, said the agency received a distress call at 19:18 hours reporting the outbreak.
“Upon receiving the alert, the Ojo and Ijegun-Egba Fire Stations were immediately deployed to the scene,” Fadairo stated.
“The incident involved multiple lock-up shops of varying sizes situated within a two-storey building occupying approximately 648 square meters, located within a larger market premises spanning about five hectares.”
She explained that preliminary investigations indicated that the fire originated from the topmost floor of the building shortly after electricity was restored, allegedly due to negligence on the part of some shop owners.
“Access to the affected areas was difficult as most shops were closed for the day, forcing firefighters to break in to contain the blaze. The delay contributed to the spread of the flames, which was, however, confined to the upper floor,” she added.
According to Fadairo, the affected shops mainly dealt in furniture items, alternative power equipment, and housed a law office. Fortunately, no casualties or injuries were recorded.
Firefighting operations were successfully concluded at 22:10 hours, with assistance from the Federal Fire Service, Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), and the Ojo Police Division.
The Controller General of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, commended the prompt collaboration among the responding agencies and urged traders and residents to prioritize fire safety practices.
“We must continue to observe safety precautions, especially in commercial environments, to prevent avoidable fire incidents,” Adeseye advised.
