Huge blaze at Nigerian sawmills but no firefighters

LAGOS: A huge fire tore through a waterfront slum here on Tuesday, burning dozens of shack workshops and homes. When firefighters didn’t turn up, local people tried in vain to stop the blaze with buckets of water.

The fire threatened numerous sawmills that cut lumber floated into the city from hundreds of kilometres away.

By Tuesday afternoon, a thick plume of smoke rose from the mills over the city’s long Third Mainland Bridge, which links the metropolis to its islands.

Hours later after sunset, the fire still raged.

Silhouettes of residents could be seen, trying to toss water on to the massive flames, which stood storeys high.

It was unclear if anyone was killed in the inferno.

There were no firefighters, engines or emergency equipment seen in the neighbourhood, which can be difficult to reach.

Emergency services often lack equipment, manpower and competent staff in Nigeria, a nation of more than 160 million people whose economy is fuelled largely by crude oil.

Across Lagos, many areas lack water lines, meaning officials often let fires burn themselves out rather than call in water tankers that can take hours to reach the scene.

Tuesday’s blaze was the second major fire in the city in recent weeks. On December 26, a huge explosion ripped through a fireworks warehouse in a crowded neighbour- hood in Lagos Island, killing one person and injuring at least 15.

Fire remains a major threat in Nigeria, where many people store petrol and diesel in their homes to run generators for electricity.

As Tuesday’s fire burned, some drivers pulled over to take cellphone images of the fire from the bridge. The only officials around were police.