It was a sad day for traders at the Alade market in Shomolu area of Lagos as goods and properties worth millions of naira were destroyed by a fire outbreak on Tuesday.
The incident which happened in the early hours severely damaged 70 lockup shops. The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service were however able to salvage 101 of the 171 lock-up shops located at the popular market.
The Acting Head of the Service, Mrs. Margaret Adeseye who made the disclosure explained that the agency received a distress call at 12.55am from Alade Market, Market Street, Shomolu, Lagos, about burning shops.
She stated that Ilupeju and Bolade Fire Stations were swiftly alerted to visit the location and firemen doused the raging fire.
According to her, on arrival at the scene, it was discovered that the average land area of 1,944 square metres, accommodating 171 shops of varying sizes, already had 70 of the shops engulfed by fire.
“The affected shops, which had various items including food, gas cylinders and other perishable goods were severely damaged by the inferno, she stated.
She noted that the actual cause of the incident is still being investigated while suspecting that the spread of the fire was aided by available gas cylinders in one of the gas shops.
Adeseye acknowledged the complementary efforts of the Federal Fire Service, Lagos State Emergency Management Authority and the Nigerian Police Force in putting out the fire at about 05:31am.
