Over N100m Goods Destroyed In Balogun Market Fire

Some shop owners in a five-storey shopping plaza on 32 Gbajuro Street, Balogun Market, Lagos, wept profusely yesterday when fire razed the building. Some of the traders said they lost goods worth about N100 million to the inferno. Those whose shops were not yet affected, were struggling salvage their goods.
The Babaloja, Alhaji Tajudeen Baale, said over 200 shops were burnt where shoes and rubber products were stored. Baale said the disaster resulted from a spark owing to a surge in electricity supply.

According to him, incidentally, the owner of the shop where the fire started had not arrived at the market then. The fire spread to other shops. He said: “You can see the five-storey shoe plaza building up in flames. Over 200 shops are inside there. This has been a recurrent situation in this market. We urge Governor Akinwumi Ambode to build a fire service station in this market. This will enable fire service men to respond promptly when such cases arise.”

The fire, however, was contained by the combined efforts of the Federal Fire Service personnel from Campus, Surulere and the officials of the Lagos State Fire Service. Policemen from Ebute-Ero and Adeniji Adele divisions cordoned off the scene to enhance crowd control.

Officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) were said to be on their way to the scene. The Zonal Commander, Federal Fire Service, Campus headquarters, Mr S. A. Musa, said the firefighters were called to arrest the situation about 10:30am.

He said: “We have been here for more than two hours. We were told about this incident around 10:30am. “After assessing the situation, our focus was to contain the fire and we have made tremendous effort.

We have reached the stage of damping; meaning fire is no longer billowing. We are very careful because of the content of the shops made up of combustible items and rubber materials.” On the cause of the incident, Musa said the focus of his men for now was to put out the fire.

According to him, other agencies are responsible for investigation into the cause of the fire. A shop owner, who identified himself simply as Mr Sam, said he had God to thank because the fire was contained before reaching the fifth floor where his shop is located.

He said: “We just loaded goods inside the shop yesterday. We thank God we are not affected. We thank the Fire Service men who have done a thorough and professional job today; otherwise the fire would have spread to other buildings.” Another trader, who pleaded anonymity, said “we sell shoes. Just yesterday we stocked our warehouse with goods. This morning, they are gone in flames.”