500 shops razed in another Lagos fire

No fewer than 500 shops have been razed in another midnight fire at the Berlin Market, Marina on the Lagos Island on Friday.

Property estimated at millions of Naira were lost in this latest incident, which is coming barely 24 hours after two men lost their lives and many rendered homeless in a similar fashion in the Ijora Bardia and Iwaya, Yaba areas of Lagos State on Thursday.

The Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Rasak Fadipe, said the shops were constructed in rows and occupied about two acres of land in the area.

Fadipe explained that more than five fire trucks loaded with 10,000 litres of water each, from different divisions of the agency had been deployed in the scene.

The spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency in the South-West, Ibrahim Farinloye, added that firefighters were having difficulty accessing the area due to some obstacles.

“A fireman from the state fire service was injured after some urchins dragged the hose with him,” he said.

Rescue agencies from federal, state and corporate  organisations are among those at the scene as firefighting operation is still ongoing.

Meanwhile another fire outreak on Thursday afternoon at the Kirikiri area of Lagos, involving three warehouses, is still raging.

Fadipe said efforts were also ongoing to put it off.

He added that a 12-room building was also gutted by fire around the Ilasamaja area of Isolo overnight.