•Fire
A foam manufacturing company at Oyedele Street, off Liasu Road, in the Ikotun area of Lagos State, was razed by fire in the early hours of today.
Some residents who spoke with our correspondent said the cause of the fire could not be immediately ascertained.
The fire completely destroyed the factory and damaged the roof of a nearby storey building before firefighters contained the blaze and prevented it from spreading further.
However, no casualty was recorded.
According to residents, the fire started between 4:30 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.
Mrs Victoria Oto, a resident living beside the factory, said a woman bathing her children in the compound raised the alarm.
She said the alert prompted residents to flee their homes as repeated explosions were heard from the factory.
“It was a woman bathing her children in our compound who alerted us to the fire, and we all rushed out.
“The fire quickly spread to the roof of the building beside the company and affected some rooms upstairs.
“It would have been a different story if firefighters had not succeeded in putting out the fire,” she said.
An elderly resident, Mrs Agnes Oyeleke, urged the Lagos State Government to stop approving chemical-related industries within residential neighbourhoods.
“We are yet to recover from the explosions during the fire.
“They deal with chemicals because they produce foam.
“We cannot continue to live like this. The government must do the needful to ensure such companies do not operate in residential areas,” she said.
Officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps and police officers from the Nigeria Police Force were at the scene.
