A yet-to-be-confirmed number of shops with goods were destroyed in a Tuesday late-night fire that occurred when a gas tanker caught fire along the Agbado Road in the Toyin area of Ifako Ijaiye Local Government Area of Lagos State.
Margaret Adeseye, the Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, on Tuesday confirmed this in a WhatsApp conversation (with The Punch).
According to Adeseye, the impact of the fire left some shops destroyed while the operatives of the state fire service were able to curtail its spread.
She said, “The fire which was reported at 22:04hrs Tuesday as a result of a gas tanker that accidentally caught fire and accompanied by an explosion, has been confined to the tanker and the adjoining row of shops it spread to as concerted efforts are ongoing to forestall further spread to protect the environment and property including the nearby Kerozone Petroleum Filling Station.”
Reacting, the Lagos State Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Authority, Ibrahim Farinloye, further disclosed that the tanker had a collision with an electric pole while trying to enter the premises of where it was to offload its content leading to a cable snapping that resulted to the explosion.
He disclosed further that the intervention of the emergency responders including the Lagos State Fire Services and NEMA brought the fire under control without casualties.
Farinloye said, “There was a fire incident. It started when a tanker that was about to offload its content in a filling station along the road collided with an electric pole. The impact of the collision led to a cable falling on the container and therefore resulted in a spark.
“Emergency responders were able to contain the spread of the fire to avoid casualties. No lives were lost but some shops were destroyed.”
