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Two separate fire incidents wreaked havoc in Lagos as the popular Balogun Market on Lagos Island was razed down on Monday while the Oko Baba Sawmill in Ebute Meta and four houses was consumed on Sunday.
A man simply identified as Baba Bende was killed in the Sawmill fire while several property worth billions of naira were destroyed. Witnesses said the fire began at about 9pm on Sunday and was only put out around 3am on Monday.
The fire at the Balogun Market started around 4am on Monday and traders watched helplessly as fie ravaged five buildings in the market, leading t the loss of property estimated at billions of naira. A banking hall belonging to Diamond Bank was also affected.
The Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Mr. Rasak Fadipe, said the service got the alert around 6am and that as at 2pm, nine fire trucks had gone for refill three times.
He said: “On arrival, the men discovered that they could not cope with the fire and we had to dispatch another seven fire trucks from other fire stations. When the firefighters arrived, three buildings were on fire, and the fourth had just caught fire.”