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Rescue agencies battled for about six hours yesterday to put out a fire that followed a huge explosion in Jankara on Lagos Island.

12/27/2012

The fire from a house where fire crackers were stored razed down the house and gutted other houses.

One person died; 40 were injured and millions of naira worth of property were lost.

Ten vehicles were burnt.

Five of the burnt cars belonged to customers who came to shop in the market.

Some of them fainted when they rushed out after the explosion to find their vehicles on fire.

The fire which started around 9:00a.m, could not be extinguished until around 5p.m.

The Lagos State Government dispelled speculations that it was caused by a bomb.

Hakeem Bello, Special Adviser to Governor Babatunde Fashola, in statement, assured “all residents of the state of their safety as they go about their normal businesses during the festive season.

“The reported explosion on Lagos Island was not caused by a bomb,” he said. Fashola later visited the scene.

Friends and family members of the dead, whose name was given as Muri Azeez, wept uncontrollably as the body was recovered from the inferno and taken away by men on rescue operation.

They said it only dawned on them that it was an inferno when the sound was persistent and electric polls started falling.

The fire, which an eyewitness said started at about 9:00 .a.m, was caused by firecrackers, popularly called “knockouts” or “bangers”, which were packed in a shop in Folawiyo House, at No. 45, Ojogiwa St., Idumota.

There is a police ban on the use of fire crackers by the police.

The leader of the community, Alhaji Olumegbon Isiaka, told NAN that one of the sellers lit a firecracker, which accidentally flew into a shop and detonated the packs inside, leading to numerous explosions and the fire which quickly spread to other buildings.

Isiaka confirmed the death of a 15-year-old boy in the fire, adding that as many as 40 people, who were injured, had been taken to the hospital.

The buildings affected are Martins House, Folami House, Akib House, Gunsemade Plaza, Fashola House, Modupe House and Okoya House.

The Federal Fire Service, the Lagos Fire Service, the Police, the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Red Cross and the Lagos State Transport Management Agency (LASTMA) were all at the scene of the fire. There were also military men.

Mr Sadiq Isa, who described himself as an official of the Lagos State government, said the explosion, which started the fire, was “like thunder”.

“We have not seen these kind of firecrackers before. They are more of explosives and the government should embark on a mission to rid the society of such.

“Any building found containing these fire crackers will be sealed immediately and anyone found with them will be prosecuted,” he said.

The police bomb squad also took samples of the explosives and left for further examination, it was observed.

Some of the buildings affected by the fire were demolished to stop the fire from spreading.

Folawiyo and Modupe houses were demolished at 4:00 p.m. Some others were in the process of being pulled down as the agencies continued to try to bring the inferno under control.

National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)’s information officer, Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye, said: “We were told a 15-year-old boy whose parents have been rushed to the hospital was trapped in the building. So, we have recovered one body, although I cannot say for sure if that is the boy because the body recovered was burnt beyond recognition.

“We heard about the explosion around 9am, but had to confirm because we have been receiving false alarm since yesterday.

“So, when we confirmed this situation, we quickly called the federal and state fire services whose men responded promptly.

‘Then, those of us who are on ‘Ember month’ campaign against road accidents had to quickly divert to this place and so far we have been able to cordon off the area.

“About 40 injured persons have been treated. The Red Cross attended to the minor cases and discharged them while about 30 persons with serious injuries were taken to the general hospital for adequate care.”

The public enlightenment officer of Lagos State Fire Service, Mr. Sanwo Lawrence, said the major challenge was crowd control. He maintained that the fire had been stopped from escalating.

He said: “The explosives have caused the escalation of the fire. I can say we have made progress because initially, nobody could access the place because of the rapidity of the fire.

“But now, we have been able to control the fire to the point where it started. What we are doing now is called damping down, to avoid the fire from spreading to adjacent buildings.

“But our major challenge has been crowd control. Imagine our people; I don’t know what they are doing here.

“This is an emergency, a hazard that can even claim their lives and they are here watching.

“What are they looking at? You can see cracks from most of these buildings. They can just collapse and injure people.

“We have tried to cordon off the area but despite that, the people have resisted.”

He spoke at about 3:20pm.

In an update by its spokesman Alhaji Yushau Shuaib the The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said: “The explosion which further triggered fire outbreaks within the neighboring environments occurred from a building suspected to be a warehouse for storage of electrical items at Jankara Market by Adeniji Adele in Lagos Island Local Government Council of Lagos State.

“Although the Search and Rescue Officers had a hectic time to reach the densely populated area due to heavy traffic and crowds, other response agencies and volunteers mobilised were able to control the fire incidents with support from residents.

“So far, one human body that was burnt beyond recognition had been recovered from the rubble of the exploded area.

“The recovery was made when search and rescue officers were working at the scene.

“The fire incident was triggered by suspected fireworks stored in a presumed warehouse. At least 15 people were treated for injuries sustained mostly from stampede during the explosion.

“The explosion was not suspected to be a deliberate attack to cause confusion as security agencies have commenced their investigations.”

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