December 24, 2025 By Dalena Reporters
In a developing emergency on Christmas Eve, a massive fire outbreak gutted portions of the iconic Great Nigeria Insurance House, a high-rise commercial plaza on Martins Street, Lagos Island, leaving traders, occupants, and emergency responders locked in a tense battle to contain the inferno as valuable goods and property went up in flames amidst ongoing rescue efforts. Reports from emergency officials indicate that the fire, which erupted at approximately 4:40 p.m., rapidly spread through the multi-storey building, which is widely known for housing warehouses of clothing materials alongside corporate offices and retail shops, triggering mass evacuations and raising serious concerns over the fate of goods and the structural integrity of the tower.
According to the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, crews responded swiftly after receiving the distress call and were on the scene within minutes, with Controller-General Margaret Adeseye confirming that the blaze originated on the fifth floor of the 25-storey structure before spreading downward, affecting floors up to and including the fifth level, with containment efforts still ongoing late into the evening; she stressed that there had been no official report of casualties at the time of earliest reporting, even as occupants and neighbouring residents fled the area to safety.
Emergency management authorities, including the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), coordinated with multiple agencies including the Federal Fire Service, the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps, the Nigerian Red Cross, and paramedic teams, deploying six fire trucks and specialised equipment such as a skylift in a concerted effort to extinguish the blaze, evacuate trapped traders, and prevent further escalation, while authorities have urged members of the public, traders, and residents in the vicinity to maintain distance and avoid risking their lives amid smouldering embers and thick smoke.
Preliminary investigations by the Shark Response Team from LASEMA indicate the fire’s origin was traced to one of the apartments on the fourth floor before gaining momentum and spreading to adjacent sections, underscoring the challenges faced by firefighting crews in navigating the dense storage and commercial elements within the building, with the number of casualties still unascertained as operations continue through the night and Lagos State officials prepare to issue further updates on the cause of the blaze and assessments of damage to property and infrastructure. Authorities continue to battle the blaze as efforts persist to protect surrounding structures and ascertain the full scale of losses suffered by occupants and traders, with the Christmas Eve inferno drawing widespread attention on social media and prompting urgent calls for enhanced fire safety protocols in high-density commercial properties across Lagos.