Fire yesterday razed about 120 shops in the popular Daleko market in Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State, destroying property worth millions of Naira.
The fire started from the vegetable oil section of the market at about 1:50 a.m, hours after the traders had closed for the day, reports Vanguard.
As the night guards saw the flames, they were said to have raised the alarm which further alerted residents who raced to the scene to help salvage whatever they could. Their efforts however proved abortive as products stocked in the shops were said to have increased the intensity of the fire. One and half hours later, men of the Lagos State fire service had put out the fire.
Director of the state fire service, Mr. Rasaq Fadipe confirmed the incident to Vanguard, saying: “Immediately I received the alert, I deployed three water tankers to the scene.
“We would have been able to put out the fire few minutes after our arrival and more property would have been saved. But the fire was fuelled by the vegetable oil products stocked in the shops.”
He said the fire was put out by 2:45 am, thanks to the professionalism of his men.
He, however, blamed the cause of the fire on power surge from the electric cables within the vegetable oil section of the market.
Fadipe therefore called on the appropriate authorities to completely overhaul the electrical wire in all the markets in the state to avoid similar occurrence in future.
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