See How A Stick Of Cigarette Burnt Down An Industry

A midnight flame has razed down a few sections of the Oko Baba Sawmill in the Ebute Meta region of Lagos State and calculated property evaluated at millions of naira.

MaxNaija learnt that the flame, which started around 2am on Tuesday, was created by the stick of a cigarette tossed into the sawdust.

MaxNaija gathered that more than 200 shops were razed down by the inferno.

This is the fourth time in under a year that the sawmill will be gutted by flame.

On August 20, 2014, more than 5,000 shanties were smoldered in the group after an overnight fire attacked the territory.

On January 13, 2015,  a family in the group lost three children, while many residents were rendered destitute after another flame gutted the sawmill.

On March 17, 2015 it was reported that a generator went up on fire which spread to a hefty portion of the shanties and annihilated a few houses.

A merchant in the sawmill, Mrs. Ruth Ajunwa, said that she lost over N3m worth of products, aside from a N300,000 money which was additionally burnt.

She said, "I was called around 2am that the sawmill was ablaze. I lost three vital machines to the flame. I had a money of N300, 000, which was from my earlier day deals. I needed to take the cash to the bank today (Tuesday). Where do I go now?"

A few authorities of the power distribution company were seen separating the wires from posts.

Another dealer, Oye Agbodeleye, said they prepared the group to put out the flame.

He said, "There was no power supply at the time, so it had nothing to do with power.

"When we heared, we hurried here. Four modern machines were burnt. Each of them is worth about N10m."

The President of the Lagos Mainland Sawmillers Association, Alhaji Abdul-Ganiyu Onikeku, said the flame was created by a cigarette stub.

He said many individuals had been rendered jobless by the episode, engaging the legislature to help the merchants.

"We have been attempting our best to stop this continuous episode of flame, however you know human slip is outside our ability to control.

"For example, I am mindful this flame was brought on by a man who smoked and chose to drop the stub in the sawdust and went his direction. That was the way the flame immersed this spot.

"We have been attempting to get assistance from the administration for past flame catastrophes, yet tragically we have never got any.

"Some of these individuals took loans from banks to fund their business. Some got advances from helpful social orders and relatives," he said.

The Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Rasak Fadipe, said three flame trucks from Ilupeju, Sari Iganmu and Onikan stations were sent in the scene of the occurrence.

He said the flame was put out around 8.57am.

He said, "The flame influenced various shops where they offer boards and other building materials. The space is about a section of land of area.

"The shops were developed with wooden materials and ridged iron sheets."