Two separate fire incidents rocked Lagos State, Nigeria, on Tuesday, December 31, 2024, affecting the bustling Docemo Market on Lagos Island and a hotel near the Okokomaiko Police Station along Lagos-Badagry Expressway in the Ojo area.
The first blaze, reported around 8:45 am, gutted the top floor of a three-story building at Number 2, Ido Oluwo in Docemo Market. Eyewitnesses say the fire caused significant property damage, echoing an earlier incident at the same market earlier this year, which destroyed goods worth millions of naira.
In the second incident, a 33,000-litre diesel tanker ignited around 12:25 pm while discharging fuel at a hotel adjacent to the Okokomaiko Police Station. Emergency responders, including personnel from the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, swiftly intervened, containing both infernos and preventing them from spreading.
Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Mrs. Margaret Adeseye, attributed the Docemo fire to an electrical surge and the tanker fire to negligence by the operator, who failed to observe necessary safety protocols.
“Fortunately, no injuries or casualties were recorded in either incident. Both fires have been extinguished, and operations concluded,” Adeseye confirmed.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had previously provided relief to victims of an earlier fire at Docemo Market, offering financial compensation to support their recovery.
