The Head of Operations, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Femi Giwa, tells TOBI AWORINDE how the fire incident was prevented from claiming any life

How did the fire start?

What we had today was colossal loss, a very big disaster. It is a case of two tankers and one commercial vehicle. The tankers were moving diesel from Ikotun to Igando. When they were about to get to Idimu junction, one of the tankers tried to outrun the other. Then, all of a sudden, one of them lost control, skidded off the road and collided with a culvert, spilling 33,000 litres of the petroleum product it was carrying straight into the drainage.

Because the drainage extends from Ikotun-Igando to Idimu-Ejigbo, there was a flow. And barely five minutes after, there was a loud explosion, which led to a fire outbreak. That fire outbreak affected several buildings and shops from Ikotun-Igando to Idimu-Ejigbo. So far, our men, the Lagos State Fire Service, the Federal Road Safety Corps, the State Security Service and other stakeholders have been on the ground and we have been able to put out the fire. Subsequently, we cordoned off the entire area and we did what we call initial assessment.

What were your findings?

Our initial assessment revealed that 34 buildings, which is a hybrid of commercial and residential, as well as 70 shops, were affected. But it is very instructive to note that this is an initial assessment because we are still at the pre-disaster stage. Once we are through with extricating the remains of the tanker, we will do what is called disaster enumeration, which is the figure that we can juxtapose with this initial assessment. It may tally and we might have slight variations. That iswhat we are doing now.

How helpful was the community in disaster management?

The community helped because government had empowered it. We have the Local Emergency Management Committees, through which government has been able to empower those at the grass roots over time. If any disaster happens, it is those at the grass roots that are mostly affected.

To this end, the state government has inaugurated 57 Local Council Development Areas and LEMCs, where enlightenment is lacking. The committee is made up of officials of the local government areas, the CDAs, the Red Cross, the Boys Scout, the Baales (local chiefs) and Divisional Police Officers.