At least 12 persons have been injured after fire ravaged the 22-storey Great Nigeria Insurance House on Martins Street, Lagos Island, on Christmas Eve.
The inferno was eventually contained by the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA).
In an update issued on December 25, Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu, Director General at LASEMA, detailed that the inferno, which began on December 24 and spread to adjacent structures, including a mosque and Oluwole Plaza, has been brought under control.
“The fire has now been contained by the combined efforts of responders at the scene,” the update reads.
“The inferno that spread to the mosque has been brought under control. The Oluwole Plaza has now been largely salvaged and the fire also extinguished.”
He said preliminary investigations showed that the blaze originated from an apartment on the fourth floor before rapidly escalating to the sixth floor and beyond.
“Preliminary investigation conducted by the Shark Response Team revealed that the fire started from one of the apartments on the 4th floor and quickly gained momentum to other parts of the floor, currently escalated upwards to the 6th floor with rapid upward momentum within the 22 storey building,” the statement added.
Oke-Osanyintolu said seven adult males sustained various degrees of burn injuries and received immediate medical attention from paramedics before being transferred to nearby hospitals.
He added that three males and two females were treated on-site for smoke inhalation and later released.
The DG said most goods and stalls in the affected section of Oluwole Plaza were salvaged, while the seven-storey Radio Nigeria building opposite the Great Nigeria Insurance House was safely extinguished, with dampening operations continuing.
“Seven adult males suffered various degrees of burns injuries as a result of the inferno and have been attended by the Agencies Paramedics and taken to nearby hospitals for further medical,” the statement reads.
“Three male and 2 female victims were administered first aid due to smoke inhalation and released at the incident scene.”
