How fire disaster was averted at Mile 12 market in Lagos
Early Thursday morning, traders and the residents of the Mile 12 area of Lagos woke up to an impending fire disaster. With recent inferno that razed down some parts of Balogun market in Lagos Island, there were fears that the fire could spiral out of control. Many people scampered to put out the fire, while others called out for help.
Passersby who saw the flicker rising from afar were alarmed and started soliciting for help on social media. But before the Lagos State Fire Service and Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA could get to the place, the fire had already been put out by the people nearby.
Eyewitnesses who spoke with Neusroom said that an electric cable connected to one of the affected shops caused the fire. An electric surge from the wire sparked when power was restored to the area around 5:55 am, causing the fire.
The fire was able to burn only three shops in the grain and frozen food section. It was contained before it could spread to other parts of the market. The Mile 12 Market which is one of the busiest markets in Lagos is situated in the Ketu area of Lagos State. It is popular for foodstuff and farm produce.
Speaking about the incident, Friday Obaji, a vendor at the market told Neusroom that some of the traders in the market are careless.
“Some of them (traders) don’t always put off their sockets before closing for the day. They think once they off the bulb everything is fine, but look at the kind of problem this one would have caused here today,” he said.
Jaj, on the other hand, was jolted by the possibility of the market going up in flames like many others.
“In the last few months, there’s no week that a market won’t get burnt in Nigeria. The Govt needs to look into this unwanted trend cus [sic] it’s becoming unusual. I can’t imagine fire burning down Mile 12 market, Lagosians will suffer die,” he said.
The averted fire would have been one of several fire incidents that have occurred in Lagos markets and other parts of the country recently.
One Ayanfe believes that there is more to these fire outbreaks than meets the eye.
“Something sinister is definitely going on with this recurring market fires,” he said.
However, reports have shown that most of the fires are caused by human error. The inferno at the Balogun market, for instance, was caused by a man who was refueling his generator while it was still on.
LASEMA had warned Lagosians to be more cautious while handling inflammable materials during this dry season.
