Adewole Ajao
12 July 2009
Lagos — An early morning inferno consumed part of the naval quarters next to the Nigerian Army Officers Mess in the Onikan area of Lagos.
Information surrounding the cause of the fire was scanty, but some of the displaced inhabitants attributed the fire, which started around 11am, to a cooking stove which went out of control.
Speaking to THISDAY, Emmanuel Ismaila of the Lagos State Fire Service, Alausa, attributed the spread of the inferno to a wrong address by the caller and negligence on the part of the inhabitants of the vast compound, who were more concerned with saving their properties.
"Rather than call the fire service early, they resorted to packing their belongings," he said. "It wasn't until the fire went out of control that someone thought it wise to call us and even the call I got said Bonny Camp. By then, the fire had spread to the upper part of one of one of the two-storey buildings in the vast compound, destroying a major part of it while ensuring its collapse but fortunately, no lives were lost as the combined presence of military and LASEMA officials ensured that vehicular and human activities continued around the area and its adjoining premises which also houses the Lagos Yacht Club."
At about 2pm, the building was still a smoldering mass and men of the Lagos State Fire and Safety Services from Iganmu, Eti Osa and Alausa had gone in search of more water to extinguish the remaining embers while all of the residents were gradually being evacuated to an unknown location by men of the Nigerian Navy.
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