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Inferno Consumes Popular Lagos Market
Scene of the fire. PHOTO: Black Box
A correspondent of Black Box learnt that the fire, which began around 2am on Tuesday, was caused by the stub of a cigarette thrown into the sawdust.
Black Box reports that more than 200 shops were consumed by the inferno. This is the fourth time in less than a year that the sawmill has been gutted by fire.
On August 20, 2014, it was reported that more than 5,000 shanties were burnt in the community after an overnight fire ravaged the area.
On January 13, 2015, it was also reported that a household in the community lost three children, while hundreds of residents were rendered homeless after another fire gutted the sawmill.
And on March 17, 2015 it was reported that a generator went up in flames which spread to many of the shanties and destroyed some houses.
The latest incident affected the industrial part of the sawmill.
A trader in the sawmill, Mrs. Ruth Ajunwa, disclosed that she lost over N3m worth of goods, including N300,000 in cash which was also burnt.
She narrated to Black Box, “I was called around 2am that the sawmill was on fire. I lost three important machines to the fire. I had a cash of N300, 000, which was from my previous day sales. I wanted to take the money to the bank this morning (Tuesday). Where do I go now?”
It was also noticed that some electric wires were also burnt by the fire. Officials of the electricity distribution company were seen disconnecting the wires from poles.
Another trader, Oye Agbodeleye, said they had mobilised the community to put out the fire.
He said, “There was no power supply at the time, so it had nothing to do with electricity.
“When we heard, we rushed here. Four industrial machines were burnt. Each of them is worth about N10m.”
The president of the Lagos Mainland Sawmillers Association, Alhaji Abdul-Ganiyu Onikeku, said the fire was caused by a cigarette stub.
Onikeku said hundreds of people had been rendered jobless by the incident, appealing to the government to assist the traders.
“We have been trying our best to stop this frequent outbreak of fire, but you know human error is beyond our control.
“For instance, I am aware this fire was caused by a man who smoked and decided to drop the stub in the sawdust and went his way. That was how the fire engulfed this place.
“We have been trying to get help from the government for past fire disasters, but sadly we have never got any.
“Some of these people took loans from banks to finance their business. Some got loans from cooperative societies and relatives,” he said.
The director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Rasak Fadipe, said three fire trucks from Ilupeju, Sari Iganmu and Onikan stations were deployed to the scene of the incident. He said the fire was put out at 8.57am.
He said, “The fire affected a number of shops where they sell planks and other building materials. The space is about an acre of land.
“The shops were constructed with wooden materials and corrugated iron sheets.”
Another popular market in Lagos to have been gutted by fire more than once in a year is the popular Balogun market on Lagos Island.
The most recent fire occurred two weeks ago, and according to witnesses it started at midnight and was also described as mysterious. Goods destroyed in the fire included lace materials, cosmetics, ladies wears, body cream, hair attachments, underwear accessories and refrigerators.
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