No fewer than 62 people have died in Lagos State from fire incidents and building collapses between January and June this year.
This was revealed in the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service mid-year report released on Monday.
The agency’s Senior Public Affairs Officer, Maria Fadairo, said the service handled 1,072 emergencies in the first six months of 2025. These include 922 fire outbreaks, 10 building collapses, 73 rescue operations, 65 salvage missions and two minor explosions.
“During this period, the Service commendably rescued 252 individuals from perilous situations, including fires and building collapses. Regrettably, 62 fatalities were recorded,” the report said.
The agency also raised concern over prank calls, saying it received 315 false emergency alerts within the period.
Despite the deaths and damages, the service said it helped save properties worth N64.32 billion, though losses still stood at N10.72 billion.
The Director of the LSFRS, Margaret Adeseye, said, “These figures demonstrate our agency’s effectiveness in contributing to the gross domestic product while minimising damage and safeguarding lives, the environment, and assets across Lagos State.”
She added that more efforts will be made to tackle fire and building collapse cases at the upcoming Y2025 International Fire Safety Conference 2.0.
In a past interview, a real estate manager, Gbola Aremu, blamed greed and lack of technical skills in the construction industry for the rise in building collapses.
He said, “People are going into the construction business without the requisite experience. They don’t conduct soil tests, ignore soil quality and drainage patterns, and this affects the strength of building foundations.”
