A fire outbreak on Thursday gutted part of a multi-storey building housing a branch of Polaris Bank on Broad Street, Lagos Island, triggering panic among residents and business operators in the area.
Eyewitness videos circulating on social media showed thick plumes of smoke billowing from the building as bystanders gathered at a safe distance, expressing fears over a possible escalation of the blaze in the densely populated commercial hub.
Emergency responders, including officials of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, were promptly deployed to the scene and successfully contained the fire, preventing it from spreading to adjoining structures.
The cause of the fire had yet to be ascertained as of the time of filing this report.
However, Polaris Bank, in a statement issued on Thursday, clarified that the incident was limited to the car park section of its Broad Street branch and had been swiftly brought under control.
The bank also confirmed that no lives were lost and no injuries were recorded during the incident, commending emergency agencies for their rapid intervention.
“Following the fire incident at the car park of our Broad Street Branch, Lagos, we are pleased to confirm that the situation was swiftly contained and, thankfully, there were no casualties or fatalities,” the statement read.
It further dismissed circulating reports claiming that 34 persons died in the inferno, describing such claims as false and misleading.
Business activities in the area were temporarily disrupted as emergency operations lasted, but normalcy began to return shortly after the fire was extinguished.
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