....orders occupants to vacate immediately
The Lagos State Government, through the state Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, has sealed Progressive Estate, Abule Nla, located on Desalu Street, Iponri, Surulere Local Government, which was recently razed by fire pending integrity test to be conducted on the building.
Permanent Secretary, LASEMA, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, gave the directive, when he visited the site of the fire incident at Block five and six within the Progressive Estate, at the weekend.
Oke-Osanyintolu, appealed to residents to prioritize the safety of their lives and property at all times and desist from storing combustible products at home.
Lasena boss, who reiterated the commitment of Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu's administration to safety, said the building would be pulled down to ground zero if it fails the structural test.
Oke-Osanyintolu, urged residents to put as priority safety of lives and properties in their hands, by abiding by the Lagos State safety rules and regulations.
Speaking at the scene of the fire outbreak, he said "it is beneficial to every Lagosian if government warnings are adhered to by the residents to work together with the government in this harmattan season, because this time weather/climate is harsh and conducive for the fire outbreak."
He stated that there have been a lot of sensitizations and advocacy programmes in Lagos state to ensure safety of residents.
While sympathising with the occupants of Progressive Estate, Oke-Osanyitolu, declared the building as "unsafe to live.
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"The team is conducting the secondary survey on the building currently, and directed occupants to move out because it is very unstable."
While narrating how the fire incident happened, the Estate, Mr Shamsideen Lawal, attributed it to electricity surge from one of the flats.
Lawal, noted that the resident whose house was first affected before other flats almost committed suicide due to the huge loss of cash and property in his apartment.
When Vanguard visited the site, first responders of different agencies were on ground for further rescue operations, while the remains of occupant's property littered the ground.
Recall that a block of six flats was on Friday, gutted by fire at Progressive Estate, Abule Nla in Iponri area of Lagos around 1.30 am.
Some of the affected residents also, attributed the fire incident to power surge from one of the flats in the early hours.
According to them, explosion of gas cylinders from different flats compounded the incident as their roof were blown off and property worth millions of naira were burnt.
They decried the slow response from the federal fire service in the area before LASEMA arrived to their rescue.
Smoke was still billowing from the roof top of the flats as at the time of this report, while fire service and other first responders were on ground damping the site.
