Fire guts Mamman Kontagora building

AN early morning fire yesterday gutted the Mamman Kontagora Building. The 13-storey building located on Marina Street houses the Federal Mortgage Bank, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Diamond Bank Plc, Union Bank of Nigeria and other businesses.

An eyewitness said the fire started from the third floor where the generators, powering the entire building were located. The eyewitness said the inferno was first noticed at about 9a.m. before people began to settle down for the day’s work.

It took the men of the Lagos State Fire Services and the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) about four hours before they could put out the fire.

The Head of Operations of LASEMA, Mr. Femi Giwa, confirmed the incident. Giwa, who spoke on behalf of the General Manager of the agency, Mr. Femi Osanyintolu, said the agency received the distress call at 9.15a.m. “We immediately activated our emergency response on receiving the call.

Immediately, the Lagos Fire Service, Men of Nigeria Police Force, Federal Fire Service, UBA Fire Service, Union Bank and Federal Port Fire Service response kicked off the rescue operations before 10a.m.,” Giwa said.

However, the fire continued to rage, spreading to the 8th floor through cables and other combustible materials in building. There was no casualty as all the workers were evacuated immediately the alarm sounded.