by Nurat Uthman
A fire outbreak on Tuesday at Alayabiagba Boundary Market in the Ajegunle area of Lagos State gutted 11 shops, destroying goods worth millions of naira.
The affected shops included two gas retailer outlets and nine others selling clothes, phones, PVC pipes, and other daily essentials.
Confirming the incident, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, attributed the fire to a gas leakage.
He stated that a distress call was received by the agency at 9:20 a.m.
“Upon arrival of the Eagle response team at the incident scene by 0937hrs, it was observed that some shops at the Alayabiagba market were engulfed by fire,” Oke-Osanyintolu, said in a statement.
“Investigations conducted revealed that the explosion originated from a gas retailer’s shop where gas cylinders of various sizes were stored, as a result of gas leakage from one of the cylinders before spreading to other shops in the aforementioned location.”
The fire was brought under control and extinguished through the combined efforts of LASEMA, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, the Federal Fire Service, and the Dangote Fire Service.
Although no casualties were reported, the incident has left traders counting their losses.
