With millions of goods and items burnt to ashes, the inferno which engulfed a plank market in Lagos on Sunday has added salt to the financial injuries which COVID19 has already inflicted on many businesses in Nigeria and around the world.
No human loss has been recorded in the fire at Ketu Plank Market on Demurin Street, Ketu, Lagos though almost every structure was razed down.
LASEMA Response Team and the Lagos State Fire Service who responded to the emergency are yet to give release an official statement on the actual cause of the fire.
Traders told newsmen that over 20 sawing machines, generating sets, several bundles of planks and foams were destroyed.
One of the traders who reportedly lost several bundles of foams worth millions of naira was said to be hospitalized when our correspondent visited.
A trader, Abifarin Lateef aka Sanjay said the fire started at 10:00 a.m, stating that he was at home when he received a call about the fire incident at exactly 10:33 am.
He disclosed that the impact of the fire would reduced if it had happened on a working day.
“We could not salvage anything. All our goods such as planks, foams, sawing machines are all gone. We have been rendered helpless. Where do we start from? By our estimate, what we lost here is more than N200m. We would appreciate any form of assistance from government,” he said.
He also commended the emergency responders, saying four firefighting trucks were mobilized to quench the fire which prevented the inferno from spreading to residential buildings.
Another trader said he lost three sets of chairs, several 6×6 beds to the inferno.
Director-General of the LASEMA, Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyitolu also confirmed that the fire caused “extensive damage with valuable goods having been destroyed.”
