Mystery Surrounds Bookshop House Fire –Witness

The cause of the fire that gutted some floors of the 14-storey Bookshop House on Lagos Island has remained a mystery.

A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)  who visited the building on Saturday reports that workers of the affected offices declined comment on the cause of the inferno, which they claimed started at about 11 p.m. on Friday.

A witness, Mr. Mufutau Salami, who claimed to reside close to the building, told NAN that one of the private security personnel in the building raised the fire alarm.

“I was standing here (in front of the building) when suddenly we heard the security man shouting on top of his voice, fire! fire!!

“We thank God the fire fighters responded quickly, but because of the location of the affected offices, it took time before the fire was brought under control,” he said.

NAN reports that the fire, which affected the third and fourth floors, was contained by the combined effort of fire fighters from nearby Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Union Bank.

NAN learnt that the fire, which was not easily noticeable outside the building, engulfed the two floors for about five hours before it was finally brought under control around 4:30 a.m. on Saturday.

The affected floors were occupied by a technology firm, a bureau de change and part of the CSS Bookshop office.