50 shanties gutted by fire in Lagos – LASEMA

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency says about 50 shanties are affected by the fire at Olaiya, Mechanic Bus Stop, off Orege in Ajegunle, a suburb of Lagos State.
The Public Affairs Officer of LASEMA, Nosa Okunbor, said this in a statement in Lagos on Saturday.
Okunbor said the agency knew about the incident through an overnight distress call on one of its emergency lines: 767/112, at about 1:55am.
He said LASEMA activated the Lagos State Emergency Response Plan and its Response Team to stop the inferno and investigate the cause of the incident.
According to him, the incident which took place at Olaiya Mechanic Bus Stop by 1 & 2 Hotel, off Orege, Ajegunle.
He said: “The fire incident occurred at Ajegunle, a suburb in Lagos with large areas made up of wooden shanties mostly occupied by people living in close quarters to each other.
“The fire was reportedly ignited from a forgotten candle by one occupant of the shanty, which led to the fire engulfing the entire settlement covering approximately one acre of land.
“The fire incident, which was put out by the LASEMA Response Team at 3pm did not record any loss of lives, or injuries to residents.
“However the fire was curtailed from escalating to other buildings by the combined effort of the LASEMA Response Team, the Lagos State and Federal Fire Services.”