Customs' warehouse in Ikeja gutted by fire; at least 20 vehicles destroyed

The fire reportedly started at about 3 pm and destroyed six trailers, 12 vehicles and two mini-buses. A significant part of the Customs’ warehouse was also said to have been damaged by the inferno.

The trailers were loaded with foreign parboiled rice worth millions of naira.

An unnamed Customs official told Vanguard that the fire started due to bush burning activity within the axis where the vehicles were parked.

Officials of the Lagos State Fire Service, Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA Response Team Fire Unit and other emergency officers were sighted at the scene putting out the fire.

The director Lagos State Fire Service, Mr Rasak Fadipe, who confirmed the fire disaster told  the Vanguard that his men responded promptly to the emergency call.

He says: “The warehouse was filled with over 300 vehicles of different brands. And with our efforts, we were able to save about 99 percent of the property at the scene.”

With regarded to what might have triggered the fire, the deputy head, Lagos State Fire Service, Rasaki Musibau, suggested a burst cylinder which was stored under one of the burnt vehicles within the warehouse as a likely cause of the the fire disaster.

“From available information, the fire started from a burst cylinder stored under one of the vehicles and enhanced by the harmattan,” he says.