An unidentified fireman collapsed on Tuesday as firefighters battled to put out an inferno at Globus Supermarket in the FESTAC town area of Lagos State.
A woman was also trapped and injured and millions of naira worth of goods were destroyed in the fire incident that created serious panic among residents of FESTAC town
The fire, which reportedly started around 12:55, raged for many hours, resulting in the circumstances that led to the fall of the fireman.
The Permanent Secretary in charge of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency ( LASEMA ), Femi Oke Osanyintolu, confirmed the fire incident to newsmen in a statement signed by him on Tuesday afternoon
Oke-Osanyintolu said, “The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, received distress calls via its 767/112 emergency toll-free numbers at 1255 hours and activated the state’s emergency response plan.”
“The agency responded through its Response Team domiciled at Cappa Base, with optimal arrival at the incident scene by 1315 hours.”
He continued, “Upon arrival at the scene of the incident, a supermarket belonging to the GLOBUS company was found engulfed by fire, whose cause could not yet be ascertained as of the time of this report.”
The LASEMA boss also stated that ” Swift intervention of the Agency’s LRT and LRU Firefighters, with combined efforts from the Lagos Fire and Rescue Service, was able to curtail the fire from escalating to other parts of the building and its surroundings. ”
“Efforts are presently ongoing to completely extinguish the inferno by all responders at the scene of the fire incident with all available fire engines at the scene as flammable materials in the store are being consumed by the fire, thereby increasing its intensity. ”
The Lagos State emergency management outfit boss stressed that ” No lives were lost in the operation. ”
He also confirmed that, “However, in the process of putting out the fire, one LASG fireman collapsed and was promptly attended to by LASAMBUS before being transferred to a hospital at Apple Junction.”
According to the LASEMA boss, ” A trapped adult female victim was rescued and also tended in the ambulance before being transferred to hospital for further medical attention. ”
“The building was opened up for proper access by the firefighters with the aid of a private excavator. In the process of engaging the fire, part of the structure collapsed.”
In attendance at the scene of the fire incident were the LASEMA Response Team, LRU Fire Unit, LASG Fire and Rescue Services, LASTMA, LNSC, LASAMBUS, Federal Fire Service, and NPF.
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