The warehouse of Coscharis Group in Kirikiri Industrial, Mazamaza, Lagos in South-West Nigeria wouldn’t have been razed if the company had enough fire extinguishers in the warehouse, a member of staff of the company has disclosed. The fire, as reported yesterday by News Express, destroyed property worth billions of naira, among them computer equipment, Abro Petrochemical products, vehicles and inverter batteries, auto spare parts, motorcycles and tyres.

Giving an insight into what happened, one of the workers said: “The fire started from an office inside the warehouse around 4a.m. and that office was locked at the time. We tried putting off the fire with few fire extinguishers we could lay our hands on but they were not enough. There was no fire hydrant or fire engine in the warehouse that would have enabled us prevent the fire from spreading to other parts.”

According to the worker, as quoted by Vanguard newspaper, “Before we knew what was happening, the whole place was on flame aided by the petrochemical products and other inflammable items stored in the warehouse. It was even The Sun newspaper our neighbour that rushed to our aid with their fire fighting truck.”

The fire appears to have been ignited by electrical fault as it was said to have started when electricity supply was restored to the area by the Power Holding Company (PHCN). It lasted for hours before it was quenched by fire fighters.

The company’s Financial Controller, Godwin Umaka, says the company did all it could to prevent the fire from escalating.

Coscharis is a household name in Nigeria playing in diverse fields such as importation and distribution of motorcycles and its spare parts, ball and roller bearings, and original Japanese motor spare parts, sales and services of automobiles, auto-care products, Computer and Accessories, Medical equipment, and General Air conditioners. It is also involved in Financing/Leasing, as well as water bottling, among other businesses.

•Photo, courtesy Vanguard, shows men of the Lagos Fire Service battling the fire . . . yesterday at Coscharis Head Office in Lagos.

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