Fire Razes 100 Shops in in Ikeja, Lagos

A late night fire, which started on Sunday night and smouldered until Tuesday morning, razed about 100 shops belonging to the Police Officers’ Wives Association (POWA), in Ikeja, Lagos.

The incident, which came on the heels of the three fire incidents that occurred at Ajah, Apapa and Ejigbo, all in Lagos State last week, has increased the number of fire outbreaks  in the state to 10 within two weeks.

No life was lost in the latest incident, 62 of the shops which are located on Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja, were completely razed down while 38 others were said to be partially damaged.

According to an eyewitness, the fire, which had started at about 10pm, was caused by an explosion from a power generating set belonging to a restaurant located within the market.

The eyewitness said the fire was not noticed on time because of the hour it happened and because people were at home and not in their shops.

By the time a combined team of policemen and the state fire service from Alausa and Ikeja offices,  deployed in the area  got there, the fire had destroyed property worth millions of naira.

Confirming the incident, the Director, Lagos Fire Service, Mr. Razaq Fadipe, said it took the concerted efforts of firemen and others to put out the fire.
He however said only 48 shops were badly damaged while  38 were slightly affected by the fire, adding that the damage was contained because of the quick response of the emergency services.

He said: "The incident happened in the barracks and the Alausa and Ikeja fire trucks responded promptly and saved the senior officers quarters." http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/fire-razes-100-shops-in-lagos/161653/