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LAGOS,Nigeria (NAN) - Traders at the Ladipo Auto Spare Parts Market in Mushin, Lagos, experienced a distressing incident on Tuessday as they assessed the damage from an early morning fire that swept through Warehouse A.
Reports suggest that the fire, which ignited shortly after midnight, led to losses estimated in billions of naira.
The warehouse contained goods belonging to traders who specialized in cars, auto spare parts, fridges, washing machines, mattresses, kitchen appliances, bicycles, imported wines, rugs, sound systems, televisions, and other merchandise.
The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service's Isolo, Bolade, and Alausa teams managed to contain the fire, preventing it from spreading to other areas. However, while the traders mourned their losses, a large number of scavengers arrived at the scene, creating further disarray. This resulted in confrontations between the traders and scavengers.
President-General of Ladipo International Market, Prince Africanus Ogudoro, recounted receiving a call about the fire while at home and hurrying to the site.
“While we appreciate the response from the fire service department, the destruction amounts to billions of naira,” he stated. When questioned about the lack of insurance among the traders, Ogudoro remarked, “Insurance in Nigeria amounts to a legitimate fraud; it simply doesn’t function. The system is so defective that insurance fails to cover losses, which is unacceptable.”
Regarding assistance for the traders, he mentioned, “We are limited in our capacity to help, but we will collaborate with the government to explore possible support.” A similar fire incident occurred at the Owode Onirin Market along Ikorodu Road, causing damage to several shops of traders dealing with metallic materials. The Alausa and Ikorodu fire stations collaborated to control that fire as well.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported in either incident, though preliminary investigations suggested that the fire at Ladipo was caused by a power surge, while the cause of the Owode fire was still under investigation at the time of this report.
In a statement regarding the Ladipo incident, Dr. Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), confirmed that the agency activated emergency response protocols following distress calls at around 12:09 a.m.
The LASEMA Eagle Response Team arrived by 12:16 a.m., discovering a warehouse ablaze at the Ladipo Auto Spare Parts Market, which was found to be ignited by an electrical power surge due to the restoration of public electricity supply in the area.
Oke-Osanyintolu noted that various parts of the warehouse, including sections housing electronics, generators, bicycles, auto parts, furniture, phones, home appliances, and powerbikes, were affected, with many valuable items destroyed. He reported that a “dampening down” procedure was successfully executed, and an enumeration was completed, with no fatalities noted. “A thorough damage assessment was conducted by LASEMA's Eagle Response Team along with firefighters from the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service (LSFRS). Warehouse occupants were advised on implementing critical safety measures to avert similar incidents in the future,” he stated.
