Workers in nearby factories are apprehensive about a potential spread as fire rages on at the main auditorium of the Christ Embassy headquarters on Billings Way, Oregun, Lagos State. The inferno, which started at about 7:00 am on Sunday, is still raging inside the auditorium as of the time of this report, despite relentless efforts to curtail it.

A man who works at Regal, a plastic factory almost behind the church auditorium, told FIJ that a spread could cause an incident large enough to raze down the entire street and affect even the Alausa area of Lagos because of its proximity. He said that there were gas stations, paint factories and buildings with very flammable items near the church.

“I was just walking outside of this street this morning, when some people pointed to the smoke behind us. The fire was likely in its early stages at the time. I rushed back with my colleague to see if it was not our building,” he told FIJ.

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“But the fire is definitely big. If it was ours, it would spell disaster. We have gaseous things and flammable chemicals, and we have many factories like that near us.

“I am still worried because they’ve been bringing trucks and trucks of water since morning, but the fire is still raging, as you can see. If the fire spreads, I promise that the entire Alausa is gone,” he told FIJ

Up until now, no one has been able to ascertain the cause of the fire. The auditorium is cordoned off by a joint effort of the Lagos State Police Force, the National Civil Defense Service Corps and the Lagos State Emergency Management Unit. Journalists and other citizens are barred from going near the site of the fire.

Meanwhile, Femi Oke-Osayintolu, the Director-General of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, told pressmen at the site of the inferno that the situation was under control. Osayintolu said that the agency was yet to establish the cause of the fire.

“We have done primary assessment. We have looked at it holistically. As you know, the incident occurred this morning, and we looped in with all the emergency response. We are able to curtail the spread of the fire, and we are now looking at the secondary challenges,” he said.

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“We are combining this with evacuation and making sure the place is safe. There is no mortality. Although the fire is massive, very soon, we will be able to put an end.

“We have not carried out the full investigations. We are still at the stage of lookng at secondary challenges. We will give you details when we finish. The fire cannot spread. We are already considering the secondary effects of the fire.”

This incident is the third reported case of fire outbreak in Christ Embassy within the last ten years. In March 2014, for instance, a fire outbreak caused by a power surge reportedly destroyed several properties on the church premises. Similar incidents were also reported in August 2015 and in January 2016.