Property worth millions of Naira were, yesterday, destroyed as fire razed 120 shops in the popular Daleko market in Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State.

It was gathered that the fire started from the vegetable oil section of the market at about 1:50 a.m, hours after the traders had closed for the day.

Sources said the night guards in the market raised the alarm which further alerted residents who raced to the scene to help salvage whatever they could. But their effort proved abortive.

It was also gathered that the products stocked in the shops further escalated the fire. But the fire was put out one and half hours later by men of the Lagos State fire service.

The Director of the state fire service, Mr. Rasaq Fadipe, confirmed the incident, saying: “Immediately I received the alert, I deployed three water tankers to the scene.

“We would have been able to put out the fire few minutes after our arrival and more property would have been saved. But the fire was fuelled by the vegetable oil products stocked in the shops.”

He noted that with professionalism, they were able to put out the fire at about 2:45 am.

He, however, blamed the cause of the fire on power surge from the electric cables within the vegetable oil section of the market.

Fadipe also called for total overall of the electrical wire in all the markets in the state.

source: Vanguard