No fewer than two persons were burnt to
death and seven others suffered severe burns in an early morning gas explosion at Magodo, a Lagos suburb, on Monday.
It took about three hours for the fire to be brought under control by firemen from the Federal and Lagos State Fire Services, as well as officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency.
Three gas reservoir tanks, a 33,000-litre gas truck,
the Administrative Block of the gas company (Second Coming Gas
Company), an electricity generating set, gas cylinders and other
equipment, were burnt.
The General Manager of LASEMA, Mr Shina Tiamiyu, said that the charred remains of two persons who died in the fire were found at the back of the company fence, while seven others, with different degrees of burns, were found in the compound and were rushed to the Lagos
State Emergency Centre, at the Old Toll Gate.
Tiamiyu said that there would be an investigation into the incident,
with a view to ascertaining what went wrong, and to advice residents
living close to Gas filling stations to always remain vigilant.
The Lagos State Fire Service Director, Mr Rasak Fadipe, said they got
information about the explosion at about 7.15 a.m., stressing that
they arrived at the scene at about 7.21a.m.
“When we arrived, the fire had covered the whole compound, but we
were able to put it out with the efforts of other safety respondents,
including the Police, NEMA, the Red Cross, LASTMA and the
Neighbourhood Safety Corps.
“One of our men got injured. All the injured were rushed to the
Trauma Centre. Some with minor injuries were treated and discharged.
We used about six fire trucks for the operation,’’ Fadipe said.
The Zonal Operations Controller of the Department of Petroleum
Resources (DPR) in Lagos, Mr Wole Akinyosoye, who led the team to the
scene, said that the department would investigate the cause of the
fire.
“We are here on a preliminary sightseeing of the scene. We will fix
a date for inquiry into the incident. We don’t want to make statements
that would prejudice the investigation,’’ he said.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Edgal Imohimi, who also
visited the scene, noted that the location of the Gas facility was not
good for the safety of residents of the neighbourhood.
He said that the explosion was caused by a car exhaust which ignited
the gas pipe and spread to Magodo road.
“I have asked them to evacuate all the tanks so as to avoid a second
explosion,’’ he said.
A member of the House of Representative, representing the Kosofe
Federal Constituency, Prince Rotimi Agunsoye, described the incident
as pathetic, stressing that the Gas facility ought not to be located
in the residential neighbourhood.
Agunsoye, who commended the state government for investing in
infrastructure, particularly the safety agencies, called on the
Federal Government to improve on the facilities of the Federal Fire Service and NEMA.
