Tears as fire guts popular Balogun Market Lagos, 5th time in four years

It is still unclear what the loss and casualties are as a fire outbreak on Sunday morning gutted a building at the Balogun Market located on the Lagos Island area of Lagos.

This is the fifth time the market has gone up in flames.

A similar incident occurred at the market sometime in November 2019, 2020, 2021 and earlier this year.

And on each case, several goods worth millions of naira were destroyed.

SaharaReporters learnt that some of the shop owners affected by the incident openly wept when they got to the scene.

In Nigeria, there is a poor insurance culture.

Vanguard reports that eyewitnesses said the fire started from one of the buildings located at Martins Street. However, the cause of the fire outbreak which spread to other apartments was not known yet.

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But operatives of the Lagos State Emergency Agency (LASEMA), Lagos State Fire and Rescue Services, as well as other responders, were deployed to the market to put out the fire.

The Permanent Secretary of LASEMA, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, was quoted as saying that rescue operations were ongoing at the scene as of 1 pm when firefighters and other first responders were battling to put out the fire.

“The agency responded to distress calls concerning the above location and upon arrival at the scene, a shop on the top floor of a four-storey building was found to be gutted by fire.

“Further information gathered revealed that clothing materials were stored inside the shop.

“Fortunately there was no casualty involved in the incident. The agency’s responders alongside the Federal Fire service, Lagos State Fire service and UBA fire services are joint responders working together to put out the fire and prevent its spread to nearby buildings. Operation ongoing,” Oke-Osanyitolu said.