No fewer than 62 people have lost their lives to fire incidents and building collapses across Lagos State in the first half of 2025, PUNCH Metro has learnt.
This was revealed in the mid-year activity report of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service released on Monday.
According to a statement by the agency’s Senior Public Affairs Officer, Maria Fadairo, the report covered incidents recorded between January and June 2025, offering a snapshot of the agency’s emergency response efforts during the period.
“The LSFRS has announced the release of its Mid-Year Activity Report for January to June 2025, highlighting key emergency response statistics and operational successes,” the statement read.
It added that the service responded to 1,072 emergency incidents during the six months, comprising 922 fire incidents, two minor explosions, and 10 building collapses—eight of which were partial—as well as 73 rescue operations and 65 salvage missions.
The report also noted the increasing problem of prank calls, revealing that the agency received 315 false emergency alerts within the period.
“During this period, the Service commendably rescued 252 individuals from perilous situations, including fires and building collapses“ Regrettably, 62 fatalities were recorded,” the statement continued.
Despite the fatalities, the agency said its efforts prevented further damage, with property worth an estimated N64.32bn saved, although losses were still put at around N10.72bn.
Commenting on the figures, Director of the LSFRS, Margaret Adeseye, said the agency had played a vital role in reducing losses and protecting lives across the state.
“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,” Adeseye said.
She also noted that the fire service is engaging with stakeholders to tackle the rising cases of fire incidents and building collapses.
“These efforts will be further strengthened during the upcoming Y2025 International Fire Safety Conference 2.0, where collaborative strategies for enhancing fire safety and emergency response will be further discussed,” she added.
Meanwhile, in an earlier interview with Sunday PUNCH in 2023, the manager of Titan Clan Limited, a real estate firm, Gbola Aremu, attributed the surge in building collapses to greed and lack of technical expertise in the construction industry.
“The spate of building collapses can be traced to fundamental problems,” Aremu said. “People are going into the construction business and building houses without the requisite experience. There’s a big boom in the industry; everyone wants to be a real estate agent or developer, but the requirements, technical know-how, and attention to detail are lacking.”
He continued, “People are driven by greed. They don’t conduct soil tests, fail to assess whether the area is waterlogged, ignore soil quality, and neglect drainage patterns.
“These are all critical in determining the strength and depth of a building’s foundation.”
PUNCH.
