The Euroasia Plaza
which is a five-storey building housing wholesale and retail shops as well as a
branch of a major commercial bank, was engulfed by fire in the afternoon of
Saturday with the two top floors collapsing on each other just as men of the
Lagos State Fire Service, arrived in good time to battle inferno on the fourth
and fifth floors of the building atop a Bronto Skylift, an aerial ladder
firefighting equipment, a battle that the firemen are still fighting.
Speaking to
newsmen after inspecting the damage, Governor Fashola said it was expedient to
cordon off the street on which the building stands for the safety of all which
will ensure that further incident will not be recorded after the incident as no
one could yet determine the structural strength of the damaged building.
“At this stage, we
are still battling with the fire. We are yet to know the strength of the
damaged building; but meanwhile, the paramount thing is to minimize the loss. I
have asked the Divisional Police Officer here to cordon off the street. Our
Engineers will come to determine the structural strength of the damaged
building”, the Governor said.
After visiting the
scene of the incident, Governor Fashola addressed traders and other
stakeholders in the area appealing to them to cooperate with the police and the
firemen by being patient until both the firemen and the structural engineers
finish their work on the building explaining that it was necessary to prevent
people from trading or going near the building in order to avoid loss of life.
He told the
agitated traders, “I apologize to you and others who are doing business here,
but we are taking precaution to avoid any loss of life. Every other thing that
is lost in the fire is replaceable but we cannot replace life. So let us
eliminate the fire and save life”.
He advised them
and others living or doing business around the building to keep a safe distance
from the building until engineers assess its strength to determine how safe it
is adding, “You can see, the fire is not fully out. Until we finish our work,
we will not allow you to go close or into the building to avoid any loss of
life”.
Responding to a
question by one of the affected traders on what Government would do to assist
them, Governor Fashola said the major priority for now was to ensure the safety
of all, the complete stoppage of the fire and determination of the structural
integrity of the building adding that when work on the building was finished,
the possibility or otherwise of traders retrieving their goods will be
determined following which government could assess and assist on the losses.
The Governor,
however, advised the traders not to crowd around fire disaster scenes in future
in order not to obstruct firemen from seeing to their core duty, that is to put
off the fire adding that such obstructions would not only lead to further
spread of the fire but could increase the possibility of loss of life.
“We appreciate
your efforts to put out the fire. We understand your sense of being your
brothers’ keepers. But it must stop. We have built the capacity to fight fire
disasters so your efforts can only aggravate the damage and increase the danger
of loss of life. Henceforth, you should keep off the scene and allow
professional firemen to do their job”, the Governor said.
He said the
difficulty experienced by firemen while trying to gain access to the scene was
caused by the traders who chose to trade on the streets instead of the modern
markets built by the Government in different parts of the State adding,
however, that Government would continue to engage with the traders on the
issue.
Governor Fashola
also advised the traders to take out insurance policies on their businesses
against loss and damages such as they experienced as a result of the fire
pointing out that in cases like the present fire disaster, insurance companies
with which they insured their goods would come to their aid.
Addressing another
group of traders and residents of the area at the Martin Street roundabout, the
Governor again reiterated the necessity of Government’s action in cordoning off
the Breadfruit Street adding, however, that anybody who goes in there would be
arrested by the Police.
As at the time of
the late morning visit, firemen were still battling with the fire as they
continuously fired jets of water towards the smoking ruins of the top floors.
No less than 10 modern fire trucks, including aerial ladders, were deployed on
the street to fight the fire and prevent it from spreading to adjourning
buildings.
The Commissioner
for Special Duties, Dr. Wale Ahmed, the Special Adviser on the Central Business
District, Mrs. Derin Disu were part of the entourage of the Lagos State
Governor on the Breadfruit fire visit plus other top government officials.
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