Fire guts Christ Embassy church in Lagos

An early morning fire has razed a section of the Christ Embassy Church, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos State, destroying property said to be worth millions of naira.

The fire, which reportedly lasted for about two hours on Wednesday, was said to have affected four 40-feet containers, reportedly being used as storage facilities by the church.

The fire, which was said to have started a
t about 4am, was caused by a burning heap of refuse, which later engulfed the containers near an uncompleted building on the church premises.

It will be recalled that another fire incident occurred in the church in March 2014, which razed generator houses, damaging about 10 generators.

According to a resident, who claimed to be an eyewitness, the Wednesday fire, which created panic and later caused gridlock in the area, was put out by firefighters from the Alausa Fire Station, who were joined by some church workers.

He said, “The fire started from some refuse being burnt near the containers. It soon engulfed the containers and lasted for about two hours. It attracted sympathisers and passersby to the area. The thick smoke also caused some traffic snarl along Billings Way, Oregun, where the church is located.”

The Director, Lagos State Fire Service, Rasaq Fadipe, confirmed the incident, adding that the service deployed two fire trucks from the Alausa station in the area. The director noted that no life was lost in the inferno.

He said, “We got the distress call at about 5am. We immediately deployed two fire trucks from the Alausa Station to attend to it. Four containers caught up in the fire contained electrical appliances, pumping machines and pieces of furniture.

“We were able to put the situation under control.”