A Season of Fires

Dub it the season of fires in Lagos and you won't be far from the truth. From one fire incident to another, no part of Lagos can be deemed safe anymore. From one fire incident to another, the state has been riddled with numerous infernos which have claimed lives and destroyed properties and goods worth billions of naira.

Across Lagos, different fire incidents have been reported with devastating loss in its wake with tales of pains, anguish, helplessness and all rolled into one. In each of the scenes, the fire often starts undetected and then it snowballs into huge flames greedily gutting everything in its path. Although some of the fires were purportedly caused by carelessness in handling inflammables, each fire disaster recorded had posed threat to life, health, properties and the environment.

These incessant fires have unarguably rendered many homeless, made children orphans, families bereaved and ruined many financially. Asides the loss of lives, each of these fire disasters comes with staggering loss. The total figure lost to fire in 2014 alone was a whooping sum of N14.99 billion. That same year, a total of 1,632 fire disasters were recorded but that for the fire service, is a plus, given that in 2013, about 2, 015 fire cases were recorded.



Some Recorded Cases of Fire Disaster
It's on record that just five days into 2015, over 48 emergency calls were recorded by the Lagos State Fire Service and while 44 of those calls were fire outbreaks, the remaining four were false alerts. Till date, this trend is yet to abate as incessant fire disasters have rocked the state intermittently.

In an interview then with the South-west Zonal spokesperson of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, he had told THISDAY that in just two days, a total of 18 fire incidents were recorded.

He said, "In less than two days, multiple fire incidents rocked different areas of Lagos. One occurred at the settlement beside the popular Third Mainland Bridge. That same day too, the state fire service responded to fire outbreaks at Larenzo Club House, Ado road at Ajah and no 8 Ibi Street Plywood Junction, Epe involving two flats. Also, one Williams was burnt to death at no 15 Alabi Crescent, Ojokoro area of Ijaiye. He was said to have died after he was choked to death by the smoke. The deceased was living alone in a single-room apartment."

The Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Rasaq Fadipe, who confirmed the incident then said when they received the alert, the Agege Fire Station responded with 10,000 litres of water but the deceased was already dead, adding that the fire might have been caused by the mosquito coil the deceased lit before going to sleep.

The Addo fire which consumed a club house and five other shops in the area, started from the kitchen of the club house and then spread to the bar before it expanded to buildings around it. Fadipe, said the quick response of the Onikan Fire Station had prevented the fire from escalating further. Also, the Epe fire still on the same day gutted two flats in a storey building.

Still in January, a seven-month-old baby, Raphael Olawola, died in an inferno that consumed a bungalow at no 2, Morountola Street, Ijanikin area of Lagos. The fire started in one of the rooms in the bungalow where the baby was sleeping, while the mother was cooking in their apartment. Although a co-tenant had noticed the fire and called for help, the room was consumed before help could come.

The fire service succeeded in containing the fire from spreading to six other rooms and a shop in the building, while the charred remains of the baby was handed over to the police. Again, a candlelight fire burnt two children to death at no 1 Anulowapo Street, Orilowo bus stop, Ejigbo. The kids were burnt to death when a burning candle fell and ignited the mattress they were sleeping on. Asides the loss of lives, other valuables were gutted by fire before the inferno was finally contained.

Also, another fire incident destroyed the plank market located at Iyana Ishashi, along the Badagry Expressway, destroying goods worth millions of naira. Though the cause of the fire was not disclosed, Farinloye, said the fire was successfully put out after the sawdust was dampened with water, adding that no life was lost.

Still in January, pandemonium ensued at the ever busy Ikeja City Mall, Alausa, Ikeja, when a fire emanating from an electrical point in one of the shops snowballed into flames and sent shoppers scampering to safety.

The mall which was recently inaugurated by the former Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, was almost gutted down when fire started from one of the retail clothing shops in the mall; Mr. Price.

The concerted efforts of the Lagos State Emergency Service, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA) and the Civil Defence were said to have paid off as the fire was put out quickly.

In February, no less than 45 vehicles were razed by fire at the popular mechanic village at the Ebute-Meta area of the state. It took concerted efforts from the Sari Iganmu and Ilupeju fire service to contain the outbreak. On the same day, fire outbreaks were recorded in eight other locations around the state including at Alaba where 16 rooms were destroyed and on Bourdillion Road, Ikoyi which affected a four-storey building.

Also another outbreak was recorded in Badagry, Sari Iganmu, Akerele, Orile and Okobaba where fire razed 18 rooms in a building. Again, tragedy occurred along the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway after a tanker fire burnt 24 vehicles and this was just after another tanker lost control along the Ibafo axis of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, setting several vehicles ablaze and killing about five persons.

In March, another fire gutted 50 lockup shops and five buildings at the extension of the popular Balogun Market in Lagos. The early morning inferno which destroyed properties and goods worth millions of naira, was said to have started at about 4.36am. The fire was said to have been caused by a power surge after an electrical spark emanated from a transformer, which later spread to an electricity generator.

Although no casualty was recorded, rescue operations were hampered by the haphazard manner the shops were built, making it difficult for the fire fighters to have access to the affected buildings, which were stocked with goods like bags, shoes, cloths and groceries. The inferno, which started from the market extension, almost spread to other parts before it was eventually contained by a combined team of fire service men drawn from both federal and state fire service. Once the fire workers were done with combating the flames, structural engineers from the Lagos State Material Testing Laboratory moved in to conduct integrity tests on the remaining buildings in the area.

The tests  gathered were necessary to ascertain the stability and integrity of the buildings around that vicinity through the Pundit Lab Machine and based on their findings, the buildings would either be demolished or rehabilitated.

While the victims of Balogun fire were still trying to recuperate from their loss, 18 different fire incidents again occurred in Lagos just in two days. The most severe however were the ones that occurred in Awaya and Kirikiri areas of Yaba and Apapa respectively. While the fire in Apapa gutted a warehouse containing vehicle tyres, the workshop in Yaba was a mechanic repair shop which had cars brought in for servicing.

The warehouse, located at Mosheshe Industrial Estate, Kirikiri was said to have belonged to Henry and Henry Company. The fire was finally put off with the assistance of the various tank farms fire services, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Lagos State Fire Services.

Meanwhile, the fire at the mechanic workshop that razed 17 vehicles was said to have begun with a spark, which later snowballed into huge flames. The intensity of the fire was blamed on the make-shift structures used to construct the mechanic. The Lagos State Fire Service Director, Rasaq Fadipe, who confirmed the incidents, said two fire trucks from Kirikiri were on ground to contain the situation.

A week later, another fire occurred at the Berlin Market located behind the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Marina, Lagos Island. Known for the sales of second-hand clothes and shoes, the market was burnt down but the fire was finally contained by efforts of the state fire service.

In June, a fire at a residential building killed three kids, even as another fire gutted a market at Ajah. The domestic fire incident that occurred at the Egbeda area of Lagos, burnt the three children to death in their residence at number 20 Fakoya Street, Vulcanizer Bus stop,  Egbeda area of Akowonjo.

This was just as a late evening fire engulfed some parts of the popular Ajah market, located along the Ibeju-Lekki axis of Lagos, before the state and federal fire service succeeded in putting it out. Although the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, the fire which reportedly started at about 5.30pm, had incited panic in the market and its spillover effect caused a traffic snarl in the area.


Already, the fire burnt down countless shops and goods of the traders, who were quite taken unawares by the inferno. One of the traders in the market who spoke to THISDAY on the phone said the fire took them unawares because it occurred on a Sunday when trading activities operate on a low ebb.


She said, "Usually, on Sundays like this, it's basically people that sell fresh produce that open shop and a few others who want to. So as we were trying to make sales after the heavy rain that poured this morning, we heard shouts of fire and behold when we looked up, we saw flames of fire. Our immediate reaction was to save what we could save but some of the affected persons were those who did not open shop like we did.


The spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), South-west, Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, had confirmed both incidents. He said, "The Akowonjo fire killed three children of the same parents. It happened in their residence at Egbeda. As for the Ajah fire, although we are yet to take stock of the losses incurred from the inferno, the fire services were able to put out the fire before it could cause further damages.


"No life was lost and no one was injured in the inferno, although some of the shops in the market were affected. But no much damage was caused. We don't know the cause but because the fire incident was closer to the highway, it disrupted the traffic and caused a terrible vehicular snarl that lasted for hours."


Sometime in August, another fire incident at Makoko waterfront community burnt down six structures. This came barely 24 hours after a storey-building on Igando road, Ikotun-Igando Local Council Development Area, (LCDA), was gutted by fire. At the Makoko area, the fire which razed the structures constructed with planks and roofing sheets, occurred when an electrical wire in one of the structures malfunctioned.


The month of October saw fire gutting a building at the navy barracks at Ojo Town and killing two siblings as they slept. The early morning fire which razed the three bedroom apartment, was said to have burnt the duo, aged six and nine years, to death.

Also in October, another fire gutted Kessisheen Plaza, which formerly housed Cway confectionaries factory, located opposite the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) bus stop Ejigbo, Lagos, even as other fire incidents occurred in different parts of the state.


Although the fire service battled the flames till late in the night to contain it from spreading, no casualty was recorded. Although the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, the fire service personnel did not rule out the cause being either an electrical or chemical fault.


Confirming the incident, the South-west Spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency  (NEMA), Ibrahim Farinloye, said no life was lost, even as the Lagos State Fire Service Director, Rasaq Fadipe, said there were other multiple fire incidents across the state.


He said, "A mini truck fully laden with jerycans caught fire while siphoning fuel from an underground tank inside Energy filling station at Ejigbo. We deployed fire trucks from Isolo and Ikotun and they battled it to prevent devastating occurrence.


"Another outbreak of fire occurred involving a storey building at 41 Ayilara Street, Lawanson Road, Surulere. We deployed fire trucks from Ilupeju and Sari Iganmu. Also at FESTAC Town, another outbreak of fire occurred at 401 road and the fire truck from Ojo was deployed."
In November alone, although no casualty was recorded, three different fire incidents were same day recorded at different areas of Lagos including Lekki, Ajegunle and Makoko. At the Lekki area, the popular Prince Ebeano Supermarket, located  along Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase 1, was engulfed by fire.


At Ebeano, the supermarket, which sells household items, provisions and cosmetics, was gutted by fire before the fire service could help put out the inferno. Although it was not clear what led to the fire incident goods worth millions of naira were destroyed. Although no life was lost, three workers sustained burns.


While still trying to recuperate from their loss, the management of the supermarket later issued a statement that read, "We at Prince Ebeano would like to thank Nigerians for their support and understanding on the fire incident that occurred in our Lekki Phase I Supermarket on Tuesday November 4, 2015. We indeed worked with the relevant agencies to manage and bring the situation under control; we are still working with them to identify the cause.


"Most importantly we thank the Almighty God that no lives were lost in the incident. We would like to use this medium to appreciate the Lagos State Fire Service, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Lekki Phase 1 Fire Service, Chevron Fire Service, Maroko Division of the Nigeria Police Force, Lekki Estate Residents Association, Eti-Osa LGA, our business partners and suppliers and dearest customers. We will continue to count on your prayers, support and patronage as we strive to surmount this challenging phase. We are still open for business and we assure you of our irrevocable commitment to the satisfaction of our valued customers.”

In a similar development, the fire incident at no 171 Orodu Street, Ajegunle, in Ajeromi/Ifelodun Local Government Area, was said to have been caused by explosion of fuel upon contact with open fire. According to eyewitness report, the blackmarket dealer had contracted the services of a welder to do some jobs in her shop and electrodes upon contact with the fuel in the shop caught fire and exploded. Although no life was lost, it was gathered that some passersby and traders including the welder, reportedly sustained varying degree of injuries. Fire trucks from Isolo and Sari Iganmu were on ground, making it a total of six fire emergencies in a day. That same day, another fire outbreak was recorded at Oju-Olobun ldumota, affecting three shops.


At the Oko-baba area of the state, the inferno gutted the popular timber and plank market, burning the wood and sawdust to ashes. The fire was said to have started at about 4:15pm from one of the shanties in the area when a resident who was allegedly refilling a generator which was in use. The generator caught fire and exploded.


The fire spread quickly to other structures and officials of Lagos State Fire Service, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), NEMA, police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and other emergency responders were on ground either to contain the fire. The fire gutted over 200 structures.

Impediments Facing Emergency Workers
As is obtainable in all disasters, emergency workers are the solution. However issues of timeliness and accessibility have been an impediment, especially for fire fighters. Speaking to THISDAY on these impediments, Farinloye said one of the major challenges they face is lack of access to scenes of fire as well as the refusal of Lagosians to allow emergency workers have free access to disaster scenes for prompt response.


He said, "This is getting complicated and the problem of crowd milling around disaster scenes also makes interventions difficult and uncontrollable.


Also, public and private motorists compound the situation by ignoring the emergency vehicle sirens and obstructing the movement of emergency responders across the state.

"Another challenge we face is the hostility towards the emergency workers. The attack keeps increasing, thereby inciting panic amongst emergency personnel as regards their safety. Such acts have become worrisome to emergency workers especially as they are injured in some of these attacks.

"It is pertinent to state that emergency workers are human beings who have families and will be mindful of their safety as they are struggling to save others' lives. Therefore, threatening their safety will highly jeopardise their eagerness to respond to disaster in future if there is no attitudinal change by the Nigerians."


Precautionary Measures

Given the incessant fire outbreaks, emergency agencies have appealed to Lagosians to take precautionary measures that would prevent them from being victims of fire disasters.
As regarding the approaching dry season, which is often accompanied by harmattan, Farinloye, said Lagosians should be cautious when handling flammable materials and electrical appliances, adding that rainy season does not stop fire outbreaks, if use of fire is not guided and maintained in a controlled environment, it has consequences.
Advising shop and office owners to always switch off all appliances at the close of work, he said the appeal was necessary in view of the effects of extreme weather which causes fires to spread quickly. He said, “NEMA is appealing that all disaster management and municipal authorities to enlighten the public on avoidable fire incidents during the period. Community leaders should also be involved to educate particularly those living in peculiar environments to be cautious about the use of firewood or other smoldering objects and heating materials.
“Such fires must be put out immediately after use. Adults who indulge in wildlife games in bush burning to catch rodents and other animals must desist especially in this season. The same caveat applies to people who are in the habit of burning refuse dumps without supervising them to ensure that the fires do not spread too far. Therefore, we need to be on guard and be safety conscious at all times and be guided against fire disasters."

Also speaking, Fadipe urged Lagos residents to be safety conscious, even as he admitted that fire disasters are common during harmattan owing to the dry weather. Thus, he said electrical faults should be fixed immediately it occurs and due care given to electrical appliances, as well as taking care when using open fires like candles and lamps.


Most importantly, he said there should be strict adherence to the provision of adequate exit or escape routes at homes, which should not be blocked or wedged, adding that Lagosians should place and maintain correct types of portable fire extinguishers in easily accessible places at home.


Fadipe further noted that people need to install fire safety signs at homes, stop refueling generators whilst it is working, prohibit flammable materials in certain areas of the building, and restrict smoking to certain parts of the house where there is no inflammable material.

He also encouraged members of the public to always call on the fire service during any emergency by reporting to the agency through its toll free numbers 767 and 112, and the fire service direct line 08033235891.

As efforts are ongoing to curb the menace of fire disasters, emergency workers have also been charged to mitigate the effects of fires especially with the approaching harmattan season, with consistent awareness creation, as well as being prepared always to battle the flames.