A major fire outbreak on Wednesday evening gutted the Great Nigeria Insurance House, a multi-storey commercial plaza located on Martins Street, Lagos Island, leaving several traders trapped inside the building.
The fire reportedly started at about 5:00 pm and quickly spread through the structure, which is largely used as a warehouse and sales centre for clothing materials.
Confirming the incident, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said the inferno originated from an office on the fourth floor before escalating to other parts of the building.
“Upon arrival of the Shark Response Team, a 22-storey building known as Great Nigeria Insurance House was found to have been engulfed by fire,” Oke-Osanyintolu said.
He added that preliminary investigations revealed that the fire spread rapidly to higher floors, making rescue efforts difficult. According to him, the number of casualties could not immediately be determined as firefighting and rescue operations were still ongoing.
Emergency responders reportedly arrived to meet the building already heavily engulfed in flames.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service said no casualties had been recorded as of the latest update.
Its Director, Margaret Adeseye, explained that the fire affected up to the fifth floor of the building and that firefighters were still battling the blaze.
“The affected building is mainly used for warehouse storage and the sale of clothing materials, with some corporate offices and shops within the premises. There is no record of casualties at this time,” she said.
Emergency officials have urged members of the public to stay away from the area to allow rescue and firefighting operations continue without obstruction.