The Tinubu, Lagos office of the Central Bank of Nigeria,
CBN, went up in flames yesterday.
The cause of the fire
said to have started from the third floor of the five storey building was yet
to be ascertained as at time of writing this report.
But unconfirmed report
said it was caused by electrical fault.
It was
gathered that it started at about 5.10pm as workers were about moving documents
and other sensitive items to the new building . Eye witnesses said an alarm was
raised by a passer-by who noticed smoke billowing from the affected floor, causing
staff of the apex bank who had closed for the day to scamper for safety.
The Lagos State
Director of Fire Service, when contacted, said two fire
trucks from Onikan and Sari Iganmu stations with 10,000 litres of water each
were drafted to the scene immediately information reached the service at about
5.45pm.
The fire fighters were
still battling to contain the situation at about 6.50pm.
The tragedy took a new
turn when a state fire officer (names withheld) collapsed due to suffocation by
the fumes he inhaled but he was later rescued and taken to a
nearby hospital.
In reaction to the fire, the Apex bank spokesman said “The CBN wishes to inform its
stakeholders and the general public that
a fire incident occurred at its Lagos Branch Office at about 5.30 this evening
(Tuesday, March 25, 2014).
“The fire, which
occurred on the first floor of the building, has been put out by a combined
team of fire fighters from the CBN and other institutions. We wish to assure
our numerous stakeholders that the records of the bank are intact, as the bank
has an effective backup of all its records as part of our disaster recovery
infrastructure.”
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