Two people were injured and properties estimated at millions of naira were lost after fire gutted four buildings in Lagos and Ogun states on Thursday.
In Tejuosho, Yaba area of Lagos State, two men sustained varying degrees of injury after a storey building in the area was gutted by fire.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the fire started from a power surge in one of the rooms in the building and spread to other rooms.
The fire, which started around 3pm, was eventually put out by the combined efforts of men of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Lagos State Fire Service and the Federal Fire Service.
The LASEMA Public Affairs Officer, Nosa Okunbor, noted that the fire led to the collapse of the building, adding that the injured persons had been taken to hospital.
The Public Affairs Officer of the state fire service, Muinat Adeleke-Ashimi, who spoke for the acting Director, Margaret Adeseye, said the agency was alerted to the incident around 3.29pm, adding that the Bolade Fire Station responded to the fire.
Also, three buildings on Oke- Itoku Road in the Abeokuta South Local Government Area of Ogun State were gutted by fire.
An eyewitness told PUNCH Metro that the fire started from one of the buildings in the area and later spread to the others.
The witness explained that the fire started around 1am and residents alerted men of the state fire service.
According to the source, it took firefighters about three hours before the fire was put out.
The cause of the fire could not be ascertained as of the time of filing this report.
One of the victims, Nurudeen Olaleye, said he lost all his certificates to the inferno.
He said, “I don’t live here; it was at midnight that I was called that the house had been razed by fire. Several efforts were made to call men of the fire service; it took about three hours before they could put out the fire and that was why the impact of the fire was much.
“People lost properties worth millions of naira; I also lost valuables. I lost my university certificate, law school certificate and other certificates to the fire.”
Another victim of the incident, Kudrat Olaipupo, lamented that she left her shop the previous night and was informed of the fire in the morning.
She said, “I got here this morning (Thursday) and everything was gone. I couldn’t even take anything out. We are appealing to the government to assist us. This is where we get money to feed.”punch