EXCLUSIVE: Tank Farm Inferno Averted as Fire Razes Shops in Lagos

THE SCENE OF THE FIRE

What would have been a major fire disaster was yesterday averted at Industrial Street, Trinity Bus-Stop, Apapa, Lagos, an area densely populated by tank farms, when concerted efforts put out a blazing inferno.

However, over 100 shops were razed and properties worth millions of naira were lost in the SpeedWell Plaza, in a late afternoon inferno caused by an electrical surge in one of the many shops located in the plaza.

It took the concerted efforts of the residents of the densely populated Industrial Street area as well as that of the Lagos State Fire Service and Julius Berger Fire Service to bring the inferno under control.

The fire in the building which housed tyres, spare parts and other inflammables, took everybody by surprise but incited palpable fear as well because of the several tank farms around the area. 

The fire was said to have started at about 2pm after an electrical surge occurred in one of the shops upstairs. According to eyewitness account, the surge could have been caused by the force at which current came back to the electrical wires after two weeks of being in darkness. 

Although no life was lost, it was however gathered that had the fire happened in the night some people would have been roasted to death in their sleep. 

Speaking on strict condition of anonymity, one of the shop owners said some apprentice sleep in the shops in order to be able to open early in the morning for business, adding that they would have died in their sleep if the fire happened in the night.

While the fire service was battling the fire, the Divisional Police Officer of Trinity Police Station, Dare Ogundare, a Chief Superintendent of Police, led his men to secure the area against miscreants.