Balogun market inferno: "Fire fighters came with toys," angry traders say
Had Lagos fire fighters responded to Balogun market fire with proper equipment and not “toys,” goods worth several millions of naira would have been salvaged.
That is the opinion of angry traders who are counting their losses from the fire that razed the third floor of a three-storey shopping plaza at the popular Balogun market in Lagos, on Tuesday.
Goods worth millions of naira were destroyed by the fire which started inside a shop at 122/124, Broad street, Lagos; and spread to other areas of the floor. It consumed everything in its path before fire fighters could put it out.
The damage was huge because fire fighters came with “toys,” livid eyewitnesses and traders say.
Traders blamed the huge damage caused by the inferno on the inability of Lagos fire fighters to act on time.
But they expressed gratitude no life was lost this time. Three people died in a fire incident at the market earlier this month.
“They came here early but did nothing, they were just looking like the onlookers,” a trader said.
“They said they didn’t have the equipment to quench the fire. People started shouting at them but there was nothing the brigade could do when they first came.
“They came with toys,” he said.
The fire fighters, however, said they had difficulty accessing the complex because of burglary proofs used by the traders.
Managing Director of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Michael Akindele, said his own men showed up on time.
He said LASEMA got to the scene at 9:00 a.m., some 10 minutes after it received distress call.
“Our response was swift and so prevented loss of lives,” Akindele told reporters at the scene.
“We responded within ten minutes of receiving the call. Our men from Onikan and Sari-Iganmu stations were here on time.”
“It was difficult to access the area because of the burglary proofs but we were able to get in at last and do our job.
“We prevented the loss of lives,” he said.
Balogun market is now synonymous with fire outbreaks.
On September 4, an inferno gutted a six-storey plaza at the market. At least three people died, and about five others were injured, in that incident.
There was also a fire outbreak at the market in January 2012.
