Fire guts 25-storey Great Nigeria House

THERE was a confusion on the island of Lagos State on Monday morning when the 25-storey Great Nigeria House  was gutted by  fire.
Though the cause of the incident was yet to be ascertained as of Monday evening, preliminary reports had it that the fire incident might have started from an electric spark due to a high voltage.
No life was lost in the incident, but the fire raged till late Monday afternoon, defying attempts by fire fighters from many government and non-government agencies.
Hoodlums who attempted to take advantage of the rowdy environment to loot were arrested by policemen  and other security agencies who were drafted to the area.
A fire fighter identified as Obia Onoh, an official of the Federal Fire Service,  was, however, injured by hoodlums who attacked him during an attempt to control the large crowd that stormed the scene.
The fire, which reportedly started around 5.00 a.m, affected commercial and other activities, especially on Martins Street, where the building is situated.
Property worth multi-millions of naira was burnt in the inferno, which reportedly started from the first floor of the building and spreaf to the third floor.
As of Monday afternoon, heavy smoke was billowing out of burnt floors, while frantic efforts were being made to prevent the fire from spreading to other parts of the building.
The fire incident also forced many occupants of nearby buildings to evacuate their premises, following fears that the fire might spread to neighbouring buildings.
General Manager  of the Lagos State  Emergency Management  Agency, Femi Oke-Osanyitolu, while speaking with newsmen at the scene of the incident,  blamed the spread of the fire on inflammable materials that were stored in the building.
The LASEMA boss said that the fire started around 6.00 a.m and that the state government agencies reacted and prevented the fire from spreading to other buildings in the highly populated area.
Meanwhile, an unspecified number of artisans were, on Monday evening, trapped when a section of the building they were working on collapsed.
The site workers were said to be working on a four-storey building located at Muri Okunola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, when it callapsed.
The artisans, who were said to have been caught unawares by the collapse,  were still  trapped as of the time of filing this report.

- Tribune

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