LAGOS, Nigeria — A massive fire swept through parts of the Great Nigeria Insurance House, a 22-storey commercial building on Martins Street, Lagos Island, on Wednesday, triggering panic among residents and workers in the area, emergency officials said.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency confirmed the incident in a situation report, saying the blaze broke out in an apartment on the fourth floor of the high-rise building before spreading rapidly.
“The fire originated from an apartment on the fourth floor and spread to other sections of the same floor before escalating upward to the sixth floor with rapid upward momentum,” the agency said in the report.
The statement was signed by Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu, public safety officer at LASEMA.
As of press time, the number of casualties remained unknown, with emergency responders still battling the fire and carrying out search-and-rescue operations within affected parts of the building.
Multiple emergency agencies were deployed to the scene, including LASEMA, the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, the Federal Fire Service, the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps, the Nigeria Police, the Nigerian Red Cross and Lagos Response Unit paramedics.
To contain the inferno, officials said six fire trucks and a skylift were deployed, while the Lagos Response Unit fire team was activated to support firefighting and rescue efforts, particularly in reaching the upper floors of the structure.
Authorities said updates would be provided as emergency operations continue.
