Dosunmu market fire disaster: Over 100 displaced shop owners seek urgent help from Lagos Govt

The Lagos Island market areas have become hotspots for devastating fire outbreaks, with several markets being ravaged within a span of four months.

"Fire, fire, fire," echoed the chant heard by Mr. John Okoro*, a fabric merchant, as he manned his shop in the Dosunmu area of Lagos Island market on April 9th.

Rushing to find the cause of the commotion, Mr. Okoro and fellow his traders on the second floor of a four-storey building, were greeted to the raging heat of blazing flames. The fire had engulfed the fourth floor, the building's topmost level, with thick smoke billowing skyward.

"We secured our shops to prevent looting during the chaos and then ascended to tackle the fire," Okoro recounted to The Record.

As the fire grew out of control, it quickly spread to other floors of the building. Mr. Okoro and the other traders fled to save their lives, unable to retrieve their goods which were securely locked away. Within two hours, the inferno ravaged their merchandise, along with not only their shopping complex but also 13 neighbouring buildings.

In an official statement issued on April 10, Margaret Adeseye, the Director of the Lagos St…