Fire guts Lagos Market, hotel, police station on New Year’s Eve

Tragedy was averted on New Year’s Eve as firefighters contained two separate fire incidents in Lagos State.

A three-storey building at the Docemo Market area of Lagos Island caught fire, while a 33,000-litre diesel tanker ignited at a hotel near the Okokomaiko Police Station.

Men of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, along with other emergency responders, contained the raging fires, preventing them from spreading to nearby sections and buildings.

According to eyewitnesses, the Docemo Market fire broke out at about 8:45 am, causing significant damage to affected properties.

This incident follows a similar fire earlier in the year at the same market, which resulted in extensive destruction of goods and property worth millions of naira. The market was subsequently sealed off for a period to conduct integrity tests on several buildings to ensure safety.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu later provided relief to the victims of the previous incident through cash compensation.

The second emergency occurred around 12:25 pm when the diesel tanker ignited while discharging its content. Firefighters from the Ojo and Ijegun-Egba Fire Stations promptly responded to the scene, salvaging the occupants of the hotel and the police station from the threat posed by the inferno.

Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Mrs. Margaret Adeseye, attributed both incidents to negligence. She explained that the Docemo fire resulted from an electrical surge, while the tanker fire occurred due to a safety infraction by the operator, who failed to allow the necessary cooling-off period before engaging the engine power take-off.

“Fortunately, there were no injuries or casualties. Both fires have been extinguished, and operations have been concluded,” Adeseye stated