Many hotel guests and staff narrowly escaped death after fire engulfed a room at Purple Crown Hotel on Balogun Street, along Awolowo Road, Ikeja, Lagos, on Saturday.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) said no casualty was recorded as emergency responders swiftly contained the inferno and evacuated occupants from the building.
The agency’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, disclosed this in a statement, saying the fire was reported at about 9:52am.
According to him, the blaze affected a room on the first floor of the hotel, causing significant fire and smoke damage to part of the building.
LASEMA’s Tiger Squad, working alongside personnel of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service and the Nigeria Police Force, arrived at the scene within 10 minutes of receiving the distress call.
“Upon arrival, responders discovered that a room on the first floor of the hotel had been severely affected by fire,” Oke-Osanyintolu said.
He said preliminary findings indicated that the fire may have been caused by an electrical fault within the affected room.
The emergency responders subsequently evacuated all guests and members of staff to a designated muster point, where a roll call was conducted to account for all occupants.
“There was no loss of life and no injury recorded. All hotel guests and staff were safely evacuated from the building to the designated muster point,” the statement said.
Oke-Osanyintolu said the joint response operation focused on containing the fire, preventing it from spreading to adjoining rooms and protecting the lives of occupants and emergency personnel.
He said the fire was eventually brought under control and completely extinguished.
However, access to the entire building was restricted as a precaution due to the volume of smoke and the extent of the damage.
The affected section of the hotel was also cordoned off pending a detailed assessment of the building’s structural and electrical integrity by relevant authorities.
“The situation is now fully under control. The fire has been extinguished and the immediate danger neutralised,” the statement added.
It said normal operations at the hotel would only resume after clearance from safety officials.
The LASEMA boss commended the emergency responders for their speed, professionalism and inter-agency collaboration, noting that the prompt intervention prevented the fire from escalating and helped protect lives and property.
He urged hotel operators, facility managers and business owners to conduct regular electrical maintenance, install and service fire suppression equipment, and train staff on emergency evacuation procedures.
“Compliance with the Lagos State Safety Commission guidelines remains non-negotiable,” he added.
Oke-Osanyintolu also urged residents to promptly report emergencies through the Lagos State emergency toll-free lines: 112, 767 or 08000 112 112.
The latest incident came after LASEMA responded to separate fire outbreaks in Igando and Anifowoshe, Ikeja, with no loss of life recorded in either incident.
According to the agency, the first fire occurred at about 7:37pm on Sunday at 23 Shaba Ojo Street, near Omolade Bus Stop, Igando, while another outbreak was reported at about 11:30pm at 61 Abeokuta Street, Anifowoshe, Ikeja.
The agency said its response teams attended to multiple emergency incidents across Lagos between Sunday evening and the early hours of Monday.
