Some traders at Euroasia Plaza on
Breadfruit Street, Lagos State, say had the firefighters responded quickly to
their distress calls, the fire which devastated the building would have been
put out on time.
The five-storey building housing wholesale and
retail shops as well as a branch of a commercial bank was engulfed in an
inferno on Saturday.
The traders, who spoke to PUNCH Metro on
Monday, said even when the firefighters came, they were complaining of poor
remuneration, conditions of service, lack of water and firefighting equipment.
They also said the incident had plunged them into
debt due to the losses incurred.
General Manager, Bestway Plaza, Mr. Ikechukwu
Obuegbu, said the traders lost unquantifiable amount of money.
Bestway Plaza is one of the plazas in the
five-storey building, comprising dealers in ladies and men’s wears as well as
boutiques.
He said the plaza had more than 32 shops,
stressing that no shop had less than N3m worth of goods.
According to him, the fire started from the fifth
floor around 4pm on Saturday.
Obuegbu said, “We were downstairs. Suddenly we
saw smoke coming from the top floor. Initially, we thought it was dust but we
later realised it was fire.
“We started calling firefighters. They did not
arrive on time. Before the firemen arrived, the Union Bank Fire Service did
their best. Some traders managed to salvage the few goods they could.”
James Mouneke, a trader, was of the view that the
late arrival of firefighters made the inferno to spread.
He said, “It is only in Nigeria all this rubbish
can take place. The fire that could have been easily put out was allowed to
assume this dimension because people are not punished for their negligence.
“It took the firefighters more than two hours,
after our distress call, to arrive. When they came they started complaining of
poor remuneration and conditions of service.
“I have a fashion designing shop and I have lost
millions of naira. I do not know where to begin from.”
As for Emeka Okoye, a dealer in jeans and other
men’s wears, he said the situation had put him in a confused state.
“Where do I start from? As I speak with you, I am
not composed. I borrowed some money to stock my shop, now fire has destroyed
them. I cannot ascertain my loss now,” Okoye said.
Another trader, Chinedu Ezebuife, said he lost
goods in the region of N3m.
He said now that the place had been cordoned off,
the time of fixing the building which had been seriously destroyed was dicey.
When our correspondent opted to speak with the
head of the federal fire service on the scene, he initially declined comment,
saying he was not ready to say anything.
“You can see our people are on ground. They
have been here since the incident occurred,” he said after our correspondent
pressed further.
General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management
Agency, Dr. Femi Oke-Osayantolu, said investigation on the cause of the fire
was ongoing.
He said the next action of the government would
depend on the findings of structural engineers.
He said his agency, officials of the state
Ministry of Health, policemen, firefighters have been working together to
achieve a common goal of protecting lives of the people.
On why the smoke was still billowing from the
building after claims that the fire had been put out, Oke-Osayintolu said, “The
fire has been put out. Don’t forget the building is a commercial building and
there are a lot of inflammable materials. That is why we have stationed our
rescuers here.”
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