Carelessness, disobedience to building code caused Ijeshatedo fire incident, says Osanyintolu

Ayodele Olalere

The fire incident that engulfed a nine room bungalow and 12 shops at Ijeshatedo area of Lagos State on Saturday has been attributed to carelessness and failure to follow the state building code by the owner.
During on-the-spot assessment of the scene of the incident, the Director-General, Lagos State Emergency Management Authority, LASEMA, Dr. Oke Osanyintolu said the owner of the house failed to adhere to the state building code.

He said investigation by the agency revealed the fire was caused by a gas leakage used to cook by one of the residents in the building, adding putting nine rooms and 12 shops together in a bungalow without safety measures violated the state building code.

“Fom the investigation we gathered, we discovered that it was due to carelessness and recklessness on the part of the residents. The incident occurred around 6:30pm, we activated our emergency response and all the key stakeholders in managing emergency moved to the scene and with combined efforts, we curtailed the fire by 9:15pm,” he said.
He added: ” We did a comprehensive investigation and we discovered the fire was due to the leakage of gas from someone in the house that was cooking in the room, and when you look at the architecture and the structure of the building, you will discover that they violated the building code of the state

It’s a bungalow strategically located and.it has nine rooms and inside the same bungalow, there were 12 shops. They do not follow the building code of the state. There was no safety measures put in place and there was no clear demarcation of their kitchen from the shops.”

Osanyintolu said the remains of the building and the sorrounding buildings will be subjected to testing, while those responsible for the fire will be brought to book.

“We are going to subject the building to building material testing. We have informed the Lagos State Testing Agency and.also the Physical Planning to look at it.

“We are.going to come up with white papers and any culprit will be reported to the Ministry of Justice. We will do the due process

I appeal to the people of Lagos State to key in to the building code of the state, to put safety measures in place and ensure safety for their lives and property. As first responders, we will always be at alert to respond any time of the day.
They also need to put fire extinguishers and have a lot of safety precautions put in place. This situation will not be tolerated in our society. In a situation where they have nine rooms different families clustered together inspite of Corona virus pandemic will not be accepted. In one bungalow, they have nine families and 12 shops. This is unacceptable on our society.”