By Chris Otaigbe
A policeman was killed by the collapsing wall of the main building burnt in the fire that engulfed parts of the popular Balogun market in Lagos Island yesterday as he was trying to control the surging crowd attracted to the area by the mid morning inferno.
The unnamed policeman died-of severe injuries he sustained in the line of duty-in the hospital where he was rushed to last night just as the Lagos State Government has reiterated its determination to enforce its fire safety regulations to prevent another fire outbreak in future.
The cause of the fire, which was said to have started at about 11 in the morning, in a six-story building located at the Oluwole Martins end of the mainly clothing and fabrics market, has yet to be determined.
Said to belong to a fabric marketer, the building was co-joined by another building called Radio House.
The unfortunate death of the policeman was confirmed by the Special Adviser to Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Lagos Central Business District, Mr Olanrewaju Elegushi.
Goods worth millions of naira were said to have been lost to the fire.
Elegushi said the State government may turn its focus to the enforcement phase of their safety sensitization campaign to the traders in the market.
Lamenting the attitude of Nigerians, including Lagosians, to safety matters, he said “the attitude of our people to safety is nothing to write home about. At the end of the day, by the time you finally discover the cause of this fire, you are likely to find out that it is as a result of negligence on the side of the owners of the building and perhaps businesses within the building.”
He was worried about access to the building. “Access is another critical challenge. We have been asking for access for quite some time now. But for the fact that the CBD had to forcefully access from the back of the building, because I had to put my foot down. It would have been far worse than this.”
The SA to the Governor said he had to use his initiative to ensure that access to the burning building was regained in order to make way for easier reach of Responders and Fire Fighters to the scene of the incident. “That is the access that is serving us now.”
It was in the light of this that he said, his office would proceed to ensure all other access are retrieved so that the roads would now be more motorable to pave way for Responders to get to the scene of fire in record time against future occurrence.
Going forward, Elegusi said, the first decision that would be taken by the government concerning the affected area of the market is the cordoning off of the scene and adjoining buildings. “We would have to cordon off the area. Secondly, there would be no market here, for now. It would then be followed by the coming of the appropriate government agency that would come to carry out an integrity test on the building and its adjoining buildings…” He said.
The Safety Commission, according to him, would now examine and evaluate the safety integrity of the buildings.
Lanre Mojola is the Director General, Lagos State Safety Commission.
He was worried that the Balogun market area has become synonymous with almost yearly fires. “That is why we are very keen about carrying them along and working with them ensuring that they are more aware about fire, its dangers, hazards and how to prevent such incidents, particularly the principles and rudiments of fire safety. Going into the end of the year, we are also engaging deeply with them making sure they have Safety Champions and advocates who are trained to identify some of these safety hazards immediately.”
It was in the light of the frequent occurrence of fire incidents in the market that he said that his agency would look at a combination of both persuasion and enforcement. “It would be a mix of the two. Persuasion first, then enforcement. Definitely, to prevent further occurrence of this type of incident, enforcement would be required.
Corroborating the Safety Commission boss, Elegushi said after the relevant agencies have done post fire examination of the buildings, the government would, then, do an enlightenment program and finally conclude the measures with enforcement. “Because enlightenment without enforcement is like you are engaging in entertainment. So, we would carry out enlightenment and enforcement to ensure they adhere to the Rules of the CBD.” He said.
The traders association is also contemplating taking its own measures to forestall a reoccurrence of fire, not only at Balogun market but all markets in Lagos State. Leaders of the association said they have resolved to place a ban on the use of individual power generators in the market.
This was made known exclusively to KAFTAN Post, on Tuesday at the scene of the inferno by the President of Nigerian Market men and Women, known as the Iyaloja-General of Nigerian Markets, Mrs Folasade Tinubu Ojo.
She explained that it is part of the preventive measures that the market would have to explore to avert further outbreak of fire in the market, adding that though they may not be able to predict future occurrence, what they can do is to ensure it does not happen again.
“Even though we cannot say if or when it would happen, but we can prevent. One of the preventive measures, we intend to take is to avoid individual generators in the market place…” she said.
She added that the rule would take effect any moment from now. “Yes. We are going to be enforcing that rule now because it is better, we manage what we can to prevent further loss of lives and properties than saying sorry and sorrowing over what we can now forestall…” She stated.
According to her, with preventive measures put in place, the resources government would have committed to helping victims would be more useful in other more productive areas and for preventive programs or projects. “So, we would have to ensure we avoid individual generators in the market”. She said.
Meanwhile, clearing of the debris in the affected area is expected to begin this morning.
