Not less than 12 persons sustained various degrees of injuries in the fire incident that razed a 22-storey building on Lagos Island on Christmas Eve.
In a statement released on December 25, the director general of LASEMA, Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu, said seven adult males sustained various degrees of burn injuries and received medical attention from the agency’s paramedics before being transferred to nearby hospitals.
Oke-Osanyintolu added that three males and two females were treated on-site for smoke inhalation and then released.
“Seven adult males suffered various degrees of burn injuries as a result of the inferno and have been attended by the Agency’s Paramedics and taken to nearby hospitals for further medical,” part of the statement reads.
“Three male and two female victims were administered first aid due to smoke inhalation and released at the incident scene.”
Pinnacle Daily reports that the fire, which destroyed the Great Nigeria Insurance House on Martins Street, Lagos Island, broke out at about 5 p.m. on Wednesday. LASEMA and the Fire Service battled the inferno for more than 10 hours, with flames persisting into Christmas morning.
The LASEMA DG confirmed that the fire has been contained. “The fire has now been contained by the combined efforts of responders at the scene,” he stated.
He said the fire started on the fourth floor of the 22-storey building before spreading to other levels.
READ ALSO: Fire Razes FIRS Office in Abuja, No Casualties Recorded
According to him, preliminary findings by LASEMA’s Shark Response Team showed that the fire began in one of the offices on the fourth floor and quickly escalated, spreading upward to the sixth floor.
“Preliminary investigation conducted by the Shark Response Team revealed that the fire started from one of the apartments on the 4th floor and quickly gained momentum to other parts of the floor, currently escalating upwards to the 6th floor with rapid upward momentum within the 22-storey building,” the statement added.
It subsequently spread to adjacent structures, including a mosque and Oluwole Plaza in the area.
The LASEMA DG stated that most items and stalls in the affected portion of Oluwole Plaza were saved, while the seven-storey Radio Nigeria building opposite the Great Nigeria Insurance House was successfully extinguished, with dampening operations still underway.
In a separate statement on Wednesday, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service Controller-General, Margaret Adeseye, said the affected building is mainly used for warehouse storage and the sale of clothing materials, with some corporate offices and shops within the premises.
Videos shared online showed the moment the fire ravaged the building, with thick smoke rising to the sky.
Meanwhile, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu visited the scene of the fire on Christmas Day.
In a post on X on Thursday, Special Adviser to the governor on Media and Publicity Gboyega Akosile said the visit was for “an on-the-spot assessment of the situation”.
Sanwo-Olu was accompanied by the Lagos Commissioner of Police and other top Government officials.
A video shared online from the scene shows the governor walking around the scene assessing the extent of the destruction alongside firefighters and other emergency workers.
The massive fire outbreak has drawn reactions from Nigerians online, who express concerns about the recurring nature of such incidents in the nation’s commercial hub.
In a video, a TikToker, Iyiola, expressed shock over the inferno, which destroyed millions of naira worth of goods and put traders at risk.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist, scholar and analyst of socioeconomic issues in Nigeria and Africa. He is skilled in energy reporting, business and economy, and holds a master's degree in Mass Communication. He can be reached via @VICTOREZEJA on X
