Markets in flames nationwide: Why fire-fighting strategies remain ‘fruitless’

Kemi Sodeinde, who sells towels and bed sheets in wholesale at the Dosunmu Market, Lagos Island, lost goods worth over N15m in one of the recent fire incidents.

Speaking with The Guardian at the scene of the incident, Sodeinde, who intermittently paused as she spoke, lamented her lost, including revealing that for three days, she could not sleep because all her life investment and savings perished in the incident.

“I cannot really say much, this is my last savings, and all my investment. And I do not know what to do. All the goods in my shop and mini-warehouse are all gone,” she stated.

Sodeinde’s case is even better than some.

Isiak Usman said his boss, who could not speak, probably, as a result of the quantum of losses suffered, disclosed that the Dosunmu Market fire incident consumed all goods stored in the ground floor to the fifth floor of one of the four-storey buildings.

And operators in many of the markets where the fire incidents happened are classified as micro small or medium businesses.

In Nigeria, MSMEs are divided into micro, small, and medium enterprises based on their workforce and asset base.

Micro-enterprises have less than 10 employees and assets worth less than N5m, small enterprises have between 10 and 49 employees and assets worth between N5 million and N50 million, while medium enterprises have between 50 and 250 employees and assets worth between N50 million and N500 million.

Despite these, operators play critical role in the economy, stakeholders argue that government has not taken deliberate efforts to curb the incessant market fires by ensuring that appropriate safety measures are put in place.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), MSMEs contribute 48 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employ over 84 per cent of the country’s workforce.

Surprisingly, Sodeinde did not take any insurance policy to help and relief her of any disaster when she was asked.

And many other traders like her within markets across Nigeria do not have insurance policy, so they resign to fate when calamity such as this happens.

As a result, many of them often rely on goodwill or family support to bounce back while many others forever lose their means of livelihood.

Worth mentioning is the fact that prior to 2019, Nigeria had 41.5 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), but this number decreased to 39.6 million, according to a survey conducted by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

This represents 4.6 per cent decrease in the number of MSMEs in Nigeria over the period.

By implication, nearly two million MSMEs shut down between 2019 and 2021, according to the report.

Similarly, the Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria said no fewer than 10 million small businesses under the association were shut in 2023.

ASBON’s President, Femi Egbesola, said this. The fire incidents in Dosunmu Market were among the 14 fire incidents that had been recorded in markets in Lagos State in 2024.

In 2023, about 34 market fire incidents were recorded in Lagos alone according to the Lagos State Fire Service. All these fire incidents left behind huge losses for many traders.

On January 21, Mandilas building was gutted by fire with the structure said to be housing shops and goods worth millions of naira.

Also, on February 4, 2024, a fire incident was recorded at the Oluwa Ose Planks and building Materials market, Abule Egba, with the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) saying though no life was lost in the incident but several shops whose number it cannot ascertain got razed with goods worth millions of naira destroyed.

Fire incidents in markets where traders lose millions of naira and sometime billion are however not limited to Lagos.

In January 17, 2024, a fire outbreak destroyed the timber section of the Panteka Market in Rigasa, Kaduna and Karmo Market in Abuja. Traders lost goods worth millions of naira in the process.

On February 21, 2024, a midnight fire outbreak razed no fewer than four shops at the Nkwo Market, Umunze in Orumba South Local Council of Anambra State.

Similarly, on April 15, 2024, the Yola Town Market, Yola South Local Council of Adamawa State was gutted by fire, destroying many shops as traders count their losses.

Also, on March 18, 2024, over one hundred and eighty stalls at the Sokoto State Central Market were razed down by a fire outbreak that started in the early hours of the day.

Likewise, it was reported on February 13, 2022, that yam sellers in the Wukari Local Council of Taraba State counted their losses following an overnight fire that destroyed tubers of yam worth over N200m.

The popular Oyigbo timber market in the Oyigbo Local Council of Rivers State, recorded a fire outbreak on January 21, 2024, with goods, including sewing machines and power-generating sets, worth millions of naira destroyed.

Equally, on February 26, 2024, a midnight fire destroyed over 50 shops and property worth N150m at Yan Katako Market Rijiyar Lemu area of Fagge Local Council of Kano State.

The Gamboru Market around the Customs area in Maiduguri, Borno State, was gutted by fire on April 4, 2024.

The market has experienced series of fire incidents. On March 18, 2023 and November 13, 2023, fire gutted the market said to be the biggest perishable goods market in Maiduguri.

On December 20, 2023, the popular Nkpor Main Market in Idemili North Council of Anambra State was partially razed by fire with no fewer than 30 shops touched in the incident.

Speaking on the incident, the Chairman of the market, Chief Paul Okafor, said that over N300 million worth of goods were damaged in the inferno.

The market leader, whose wine shop was also gutted, said the fire affected shops loaded with paints, curtains, gum, shoe leathers, shoe polish, wines, hot drinks, and thinners, among others.

Furthermore, a warehouse stocked with sesame and melon seeds worth over N150m was gutted by fire in a market in Nasarawa Local Council of Nasarawa State on August 19, 2023.

Just as on March 21, 2023, a fire incident occurred at the White House section of the Onitsha Market, Anambra State.

The section, popularly called ‘Gbongboro,’ and located at the back of the market, served as a warehouse and was also used for the sale of lace and other clothing materials.

That there are increasing cases of fire incidents in markets is buttressed by the statement of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), which blamed the rising rate of fire incidents in markets across the country on the extremely dry weather before the rainy season.

The immediate past Director General of NEMA, Mr. Mustapha Ahmed, said this in a statement on rising fire incidents in markets nationwide recently.

Ahmed noted that fire, like any other disaster, has been part of human existence, but the frequency and impacts of this in recent weeks have necessitated a serious concern.

In the same vein, the Controller General of the Federal Fire Service, Jaji Abdulganiyu, also recently said: “Verified statistics show on good authority that in recent times, Nigeria, as a country has suffered incessant fire and related disasters resulting from a few major causes. Some of the fires on record are the Singer Market fire in Kano, the Monday Market fire in Maiduguri, Tejuosho Market fire in Yaba, Ajegunle spare part Market in Lagos State, Onitsha Drug Market fire, all of which occurred within the space of just five months.

“This is highly lamentable and I commiserate deeply with victims of such hazards hoping they are able to recover and find some respite from well-meaning individuals, family, and friends.

“With the exception of arson, fires in the marketplace are largely as a result of human error or carelessness. To be very specific, poor housekeeping/handling of electronic and electrical devices are the number one cause of fire hazards.”

Providing reasons for the frequent market fire incidents in Nigeria, a Safety Expert and Principal Consultant, Monotech HSE Services, Onome Moses Akpobaro, said that the constant market fire incidents are products of negligence of safety rules and failing to take simple fire precautions.

He added that there are no fire prevention method, no fire prevention rules and regulations in most markets just as there is a lack of fire engineering in many markets.

He further said that most markets do not have functional water hydrant, with many shop owners not having functional fire extinguishers.

“Even when they are there, the people don’t know how to use or operate the fire extinguishers. And they do not understand and cannot even classify the classes of fire, because not all fire you use water to put out. There’s a particular extinguisher you have to use for each fire. Not all extinguishers you can use for any fire you see.

“So, ignorance and lack of training are parts of why the spread of fire is going on everywhere in Nigeria, including the markets.”

Some stakeholders argued that government needs to take urgent steps to curb fire incidents generally because the consequences of fire incidents are alarming as between 2015 and 2022, Nigerians were said to have lost over ₦3.19 trillion due to fire incidents.

In 2022 alone, fire outbreaks cost the country ₦46.1 billion, representing an increase of 1,413 percent in a 12-month period while fire cost citizens ₦3.05 billion in 2021, data from government said.

Of these losses, experts argue that fire incidents in markets may be responsible for a larger chunk of the losses, with many of the traders losing their livelihood and source of employments.

And the Controller General of the Federal Fire Service, Jaji Abdulganiyu, lamented the huge losses, when he said: “Market fires are classified as one of the economic and safety calamities bedeviling Nigeria.

“Once a fire outbreak happens, we see economic losses; many people lose their investments and some even collect loans to start up these businesses. Lives are even lost in the process and more pollution is created.

“Smoke detectors should be placed in the markets/shops to trigger an alarm for early rescue. There should be enough fire sprinklers in the markets. More security guards should be employed and properly remunerated.”

The Chief Executive Officer, Safety Practices Education and Research Limited, Engineer Timothy Iwuagwu, said that the cost of rebuilding a market, the value of materials lost in one fire incident cannot be quantified only in terms of money, as the emotional distress, the withdrawal and depression the victims suffer cannot be quantified.

This, to him, is why government must not only provide a safe environment within the market; it should also employ safety officers who will be inspecting safety compliance on a daily basis.

According to the Federal Fire Service, electrical sparks led to most fire outbreaks in 2021 with 636 incidents.

Unknown causes (567 incidents), electrical equipment (447 cases), arson and automobile fires (294 cases), gas and special services (151), cigarette stub and bush burning (133 incidents), high electrical voltage, building collapse, contributed to the menace.

A study by some scholars also revealed that 68.6 per cent of the market fire incidents in Lagos were caused by electrical faults.

However, despite the country has a Federal Fire Service with almost every state having a state fire service body, on many occasions, not much is salvaged during the fire incidents.

Commenting on this, Abdulganiyu said: “The design of our markets was originally at least near perfect and allowed access roads for cars to drive through, but the abuse of infrastructure has resized the allowable space for firefighting trucks to drive through or maneuver. This poses another big challenge to a quick firefighting response.

“Only a few traders and shop owners are enlightened and cultured enough to appreciate the importance of obtaining and installing fire protection devices like hydrants, water sprinkler systems, smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, fire blankets, etc. Hence, the need to continually enlighten them to build and develop a safety culture.”

The fire service boss further said: “Collaborations shall be worked out between the service and the market associations in providing a functional fire station domiciled in the premises with a firefighting truck or at least Rapid Response Trucks that would be manned by our men.

“I appeal to both the private sector and state governments, area councils, and market associations to ensure that these fire stations are built to standard and operated based on globally acceptable modus operandi. The Federal Fire Service is willing to train the market security guards as fire wardens at the National Fire Academy so that first aid firefighting can be learnt and prepare them for eventualities relating to fire hazards.”

Speaking on whether regulatory failure is compounding market fire incidents, Akpobaro noted that there are serious regulatory failures in the frequency of outbreak of fire incidents in markets.

He stated that the market leaders, the local council leaders who provide supervisory role for markets are all culpable because there are no rules, no regulations, no enforcement, no planning, and no procedures for fire safety processes in the market.

On measures to be put in place to curb the incessant fire incidents and its consequence, he said the market leaders should train the security officers, who are always around when the traders have gone home at night on simple fire fighting techniques so that they can quickly respond to fire incidents when it occurred.

“This is so that they can easily tackle some of these fire incidents before they get spread and envelope the whole market. They should provide fire extinguishers and hydrant, both upper and lower hydrant, not only that there should be wet hydrant, that is constant water has to be available to assist the security men and others before the external respondents will come.

“Then the local councils should enforce putting in place fire precaution measures in markets, as well as having in place fire preventions mechanism like installing fire alarm, smoke alarm, smoke detectors in every market so that even when the security men are asleep, the smoke detectors can ring to alert them of the particular location where there is fire for quick response before the fire fighters will arrive.”

He added that the state government should promulgate a law that every market should have the safety precautions equipments.

He further said that the state government should be committed to safety by providing much funds towards fire fighting as most times fire fighting vehicles do not have water while some states do not even have fire fighting vehicles.

Noting that arson is the second cause of market fire after electrical fault, he stated that nobody should be allowed to live within market places.

“Another strict rule that should be put in place is not having flammables facilities like filling stations or gas stations close to the market. Also, people selling petrol, kerosene in kegs must not be found around or close to popular markets. Then the government should do aggressive sensitisation on fire prevention and safety.”

Also speaking, Director, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, said that following the fire incidents in Dosunmu Market, her agency has drawn up an agenda to address the incessant fire emergencies.

He listed the resolutions to include each building having a fire safety marshal from among them that will be trained for free by the agency; each shop to have at least fire extinguisher; each building should see to their electrical wiring, where it should be readdress and one certified electrician to be in charge, and each store/warehouse owner must follow standard procedure of storage that include proper house keeping with fire detection and suppression system in place.

She listed other decisions to include each building to consider having a common generator, while in the interim; all generators should be in same open place on the ground floor where fuels storage is not allowed, just as each building must not store fuels (petrol or diesel) within their premises, as it is against the Fire Safety Law.

Adeseye also mentioned that no fire work or other combustible materials must be stored, to do this, the merchant must get permit, including permit for hot work.

The Guardian findings, however, revealed that despite the resolutions of the Lagos State Fire Service on halting fire incidents, the resolutions have not been implemented as traders and their leaders have not been engaged, weeks after the incidents.