03 Apr Fire erupts in Lagos spare parts market

Last Thursday morning a fire erupted in the Olowu Spare Parts Market in the Ikeja area of Lagos State, Nigeria.

Although since extinguished, the local area is still counting the cost of the incident – which saw multiple properties worth millions of naira razed to the ground, and goods destroyed.

The fire raged across the marketplace, destroying businesses across the spare parts marketplace, many of which were selling products such as air-conditioners, vehicle parts and motorcycles, many of which consisting of combustible parts.

Thanks to the joint efforts of emergency responders and Lagos State Fire and Rescue Services who were on site soon after 3.20am, the fire was under control by the afternoon, but not before it caused millions of Nairas’ worth of damage.

A spokesperson for the Lagos Territorial Office of National Emergency Management Agency, Amodu Shakiri, detailed the event: “We got there in three minutes of the call time… Unfortunately, we lost 19 shops. The owners of the shops along the street all trade in combustible materials… It aided the widespread of the fire, but we were able to curtail it in time so that we did not record further losses. We also asked Alausa Station to join us. Despite the combustibles that were involved, the was no injury because the traders were not around.”

Fortunately, the fire broke out early in the morning, meaning no lives were lost. In the early morning, traders rushed to the scene to salvage what they could of their goods.

Firefighting teams have been praised in the region, due to their quick response and the manner in which the fire was controlled, despite escalation as a result of combustible materials.