Lagos Inferno: Fire service confirms eight dead, demolition underway

The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service has confirmed eight deaths from a fire incident that occurred on 24 December at the 25-storey Great Nigeria Insurance House on Lagos Island.

The Controller General of the agency, Margaret Adeseye, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday while giving a comprehensive update on the incident.

Mrs Adeseye said that the Lagos State Government moved to begin a controlled demolition of the damaged structure.

“Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, following a second on-site assessment on January 2, approved the constitution of a Technical Recovery and Demolition Committee.

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“The committee, chaired by the Honourable Commissioner for Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Relations, is responsible for developing and implementing a safe demolition plan for the affected building and its immediate surroundings, with public and responder safety as top priorities, ” she said.

She said that emergency responders remained fully deployed at the scene alongside sister agencies.

“The site is highly sensitive and volatile, with substantial rubble still in place and intermittent pockets of fire burning within the debris.

“These fires are caused by combustible materials such as textiles and clothing stockpiled inside the building, rather than the building’s structural components,” she said.

The agency boss said that although the pocket fires did not pose immediate danger to surrounding areas, “any rushed or uncoordinated removal of debris could destabilise the already weakened structure.

“The building’s foundation has been severely compromised by the fire, rendering it structurally unsafe and unfit for use, while some rubble may currently be providing unintended structural support.

“For this reason, all operations are being carried out in line with global disaster response best practices, where rescuer safety comes first. The incidents of this scale can take days, weeks, or even months to fully resolve.

“As part of public safety measures, the affected market and surrounding areas remain closed, with only authorised first responders allowed within the cordoned zone,” she said

Mrs Adeseye urged the public to remain calm and cooperative, as their safety was directly linked to the safety of emergency personnel on the ground.

According to her, an information centre has been established at the site to address enquiries from families, stakeholders, and members of the public.

On casualties, she said that eight fatalities had been recorded, with five victims identified and three yet to be identified.

The service boss said that 13 people had been successfully rescued, while search operations continued in safer sections of the debris to ensure no one remained trapped.

She said that preliminary observations by emergency officials pointed to serious fire safety violations within the building.

“These include overstocking of combustible materials from floor to ceiling with little or no ventilation, absence of proper fire safety infrastructure, and unsafe market practices such as the use of generators within buildings and shops constructed around transformers,” she said.

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She warned that such hazardous conditions could lead to heat build-up and spontaneous ignition even without an external fire trigger.

She said that, drawing global comparisons, similar large-scale fire recovery operations had occurred worldwide, including the World Trade Centre incident in New York, where recovery efforts extended over several months.

She reassured residents that all actions being taken were deliberate, professional, and safety-driven, and that operations would continue until ground zero was fully reached, all risks were eliminated, and the incident was conclusively resolved.

Mrs Adeseye thanked Lagos residents for their patience, understanding, and cooperation, reiterating that a safe rescuer ensured a safe rescue.

(NAN)