Midnight fire has burnt down some parts of the Oko Baba Sawmill in the Ebute Meta area of Lagos State and destroyed property estimated at millions of naira.
Our correspondent learnt that the fire, which began around 2am on Tuesday, was caused by the stub of a cigarette thrown into the sawdust.
This is the fourth time in less than a year that the sawmill will be gutted by fire.
On August 20, 2014, PUNCH Metro reported that more than 5,000 shanties were burnt in the community after an overnight fire ravaged the area.
On January 13, 2015, our correspondent further reported that a household in the community lost three kids, while hundreds of residents were rendered homeless after another fire gutted the sawmill.
On March 17, 2015 it was reported that a generator went up in flames which spread to many of the shanties and destroyed some houses.
Our correspondent learnt that the latest incident affected the industrial part of the sawmill.
A trader in the sawmill, Mrs. Ruth Ajunwa, told PUNCH Metro that she lost over N3m worth of goods, apart from a N300,000 cash which was also burnt.
She said, “I was called around 2am that the sawmill was on fire. I lost three important machines to the fire. I had a cash of N300, 000, which was from my previous day sales. I wanted to take the money to the bank this morning (Tuesday). Where do I go now?”
Our correspondent observed that some electric wires were also burnt by the fire.
Some officials of the electricity distribution company were seen disconnecting the wires from poles.
Another trader, Oye Agbodeleye, said they mobilised the community to put out the fire.
He said, “There was no power supply at the time, so it had nothing to do with electricity.
“When we heard, we rushed here. Four industrial machines were burnt. Each of them is worth about N10m.”
The President of the Lagos Mainland Sawmillers Association, Alhaji Abdul-Ganiyu Onikeku, said the fire was caused by a cigarette stub.
He said hundreds of people had been rendered jobless by the incident, appealing to the government to assist the traders.
“We have been trying our best to stop this frequent outbreak of fire, but you know human error is beyond our control.
“For instance, I am aware this fire was caused by a man who smoked and decided to drop the stub in the sawdust and went his way. That was how the fire engulfed this place.
“We have been trying to get help from the government for past fire disasters, but sadly we have never got any.
“Some of these people took loans from banks to finance their business. Some got loans from cooperative societies and relatives,” he said.
The Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Rasak Fadipe, said three fire trucks from Ilupeju, Sari Iganmu and Onikan stations were deployed in the scene of the incident.
He said the fire was put out around 8.57am.
He said, “The fire affected a number of shops where they sell planks and other building materials. The space is about an acre of land.
“The shops were constructed with wooden materials and corrugated iron sheets.”
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