Six persons on Wednesday sustained injuries after two plazas collapsed as the popular Balogun Market; Lagos caught fire around 3:40pm.
A fire service operations commander and two others were hurt when the first plaza came down, while two Red Cross officials and a fireman were injured as the second plaza collapsed.
The officials who were among those on rescue operations in the market following the fire outbreak that affected nine plazas were hit by falling debris.
The fireman who extinguishing the fire on top of one of the buildings, sustained head injuries and was immediately rushed off the scene.
There were also fears that some of those packing goods thrown down might have been trapped in the rubble of the collapsed buildings.
Two other buildings had earlier caved in following the fire which broke out around 10am at Anambra Plaza and spread quickly to Martins and Gbajumo streets.
At 4:50pm, the fire was still raging and had partially affected adjoining buildings with visible cracks on the walls and smoke on the roofs.
Sources at the scene of the inferno said the fire was caused by a shop owner who attempted to pour petrol into his running generator and then flung the keg into an opposite plaza when it caught fire.
When our correspondent visited the scene, emergency workers were still battling the fire, while some of the traders whose shops were close to the affected areas evacuated their wares.
Most of the victims lamented that nothing came out of previous fire outbreaks in the market.
It was gathered that one of the shops caught fire over the weekend though it was quickly put out by firefighters.
A woman who gave her name as Victoria, said: “The fire burnt the man’s hand and then he flung the container which landed on our plaza which is directly opposite theirs. We did not know what was happening until people started shouting, Fire, fire!
“I saw death face-to-face. I came out of my shop and fire was right before me. We did not have the opportunity to pick anything out because the fire completely burnt down our plaza. I have lost everything. I didn’t pick a pin out. Not even my bag,” she lamented. Another woman Evangeline Adeyemo who said she lost over N10million in the inferno, lamenting that she was still owing China for the wares.
“My plaza is Sunnyland on Sunny Adewale. I just joined this market last year and I do not even have insurance. I do not know where to start from.
“The first thing that came to my mind was to run. The fire was just too fast. I just returned from China with goods worth over N10 million.
“I sell ladies shoes. All my goods gone,” she cried.
A young man Ibrahim Shakiru who claimed to have contacted the fire service said the fire started at about 10:15am, adding that they responded in good time.
“This morning I heard people shouting fire! fire! and I called the fire service. They came within five minutes with one truck. It was when they reached here and saw the magnitude that they called for more fire trucks. The fire kept spreading.
“The same thing happened last year November and last Saturday. This fire has destroyed goods worth billions of naira. We are appealing to the government to help our people here in Balogun,” he said.
Another trader Fawas Abdulsalam said he lost goods worth N200,000, adding that he was not around when the inferno started.
Urchins loot
Street urchins saw an opportunity to make brisk business by looting the wares. Some of them were seen fleeing with safety boxes and other valuables thrown down the buildings, while others stole bags of shoes, clothes and bags.
While one of them was caught by soldiers, two others were apprehended by the police and made to sit on the floor. The one caught by the soldiers was said to have entered one of the affected shops and stolen items but was caught before he could leave and beaten up.
The two arrested by the police could not give account of the items they had on them.
Those selling sacks received high patronage as most of the victims packing out their wares bought hundreds of them.
Lagos blames traders non-compliance for inferno
The Director General (DG) Lagos Satefy Commission Lanre Mojola decried the traders’ lack of compliance to safety rules.
He said they have organised several sensitisation workshops for the traders and even held one last week on the need to stop storing fuel in their shops.
He said, “These people are not ready to adhere to safety procedures. We have on several occasions told them what to do and why they should never store up petrol. But from what we are seeing here, it is clear they have not adhered to those directives.”
Director General, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu said seven buildings were affected by the fire, adding that two collapsed.
Police commissioner Hakeem Odumosu said the command will go after the person who caused the fire, though he stressed that the immediate priority was to first contain the situation.”

By Halima Balogun