Fire broke out yesterday at 15, Pipeline Road, off Ekoro Road, Abule Egba, Lagos, destroying a residential building and a church in the area.

The blaze reportedly started in an open space used for local recycling activities and later spread to nearby property.

The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service said it received a distress call at about 1:08 p.m. and immediately mobilised firefighting crews from the Agege and Abesan fire stations to the scene.

The Controller General of the service, Mrs Margaret Adeseye, said preliminary findings indicated that the fire originated at the recycling site before spreading to a residential bungalow and a mini church in the vicinity.

“One adult female suffered shock at the scene and has since been stabilised by emergency responders. No fatalities were recorded. The fire has been successfully brought under control, and investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of the incident,” she said.

Adeseye urged residents to adhere strictly to fire safety regulations, reiterating the service’s commitment to safeguarding lives and property.

Meanwhile, providing an update on the 25-storey Great Nigeria Insurance House on Martins Street, Lagos Island, which caught fire on Christmas Eve in December 2025, she said intermittent pockets of fire were still being recorded within the debris.

According to her, the residual fires are mainly from combustible materials such as textiles and clothing stockpiled in the building, rather than from its structural elements. She said the materials were buried deep within the rubble and required extreme caution and specialised technical planning to access.

The service noted that while the pocket fires do not pose immediate external danger, improper or rushed evacuation of debris could further compromise the already weakened structure.

She said the fire had significantly weakened the building’s foundation, rendering it structurally unsafe and unfit for any use, adding that all operations were being carried out in line with global disaster response best practices, with rescuer safety taking priority.

“The entire area remains unsafe for commercial or public activity,” she said, urging the public to remain calm and cooperative.

An information centre has been established at the site to address inquiries from families, stakeholders and members of the public.

So far, eight fatalities have been confirmed, with five victims identified and three yet to be identified, while 13 persons have been rescued. Search operations are continuing in safer sections of the debris to ensure no one remains trapped.

The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service said operations would continue until ground zero is fully reached, all risks are eliminated, and the incident is conclusively resolved.