Hundreds
of tenants and traders wept on Monday as fire engulfed the Great Nigeria House,
Martins Street, Lagos Island, which served as their offices and warehouses.
The
fire brought commercial activities in popular Balogun market to a standstill.
Many
of the traders were seen scrambling to salvage their goods from the burning
building.
The
22-storey Great Nigeria House, acclaimed as the fifth tallest building in
Nigeria, also accommodates Mainstreet Bank.
According
to a witness, the fire started at about 5.00 a.m. and was first noticed on the
first floor. He said that as at 10:30 a.m., the fire had taken over the first
four floors.
The
witness said that the Federal Fire Service was quick to respond to the distress
call of traders, and more than five fire engines were on ground to battle the
blaze.
However,
lack of adequate access to the building hampered the activities of the firemen
as the building is surrounded by shopping plazas.
A
staff of Mainstream Bank, who pleaded anonymity, said that there was nobody in
the building because the fire started before resumption of work.
An
official of the fire service, who spoke in a rush while battling the fire, said
the its cause could not be ascertained yet, but that traders had been told to
vacate the neighbouring buildings.
The
fire was finally contained by 11:00 a.m. and prevented from spreading to other
floors and shopping plazas around the skyscraper.
(NAN)
See pictures after the cut..
Hmmm mm! This is Serious....
No comments:
Post a Comment