Yemisi Izuora
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, has confirmed a fire outbreak at its headquarters in Lagos.
The FAAN, in a statement released to the media today, said, “There was a fire incident at the headquarters in Lagos today. The incident which affected some offices is being investigated right now to find the cause of the outbreak.
The fire department, in collaboration with the Lagos state fire department and other security agencies, however, responded speedily by curtailing the spread of the fire as normalcy is being restored already.
The authority will like to assure travelers, airport users and the general public that the incident did not affect operations at any airport in any way as normal operations continue unhindered”.
Reports, however, said the fire destroyed the reception down to the Public Affairs Department area.
Meanwhile, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has constituted a panel of inquiry to investigate the fire incident that occurred at its headquarters in Lagos.
The Managing Director of the Authority, Engr Saleh Dunoma made the disclosure while addressing a press conference after he inspected affected areas alongside his management team.
In his words, “ the committee, which will comprise representatives from the Nigerian Police Force, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Accident Investigation Bureau, the Authority’s Director of Security Services, representatives from Fire department, Safety department and Legal. The Legal representative would also serve as the Secretary to the panel.
The committee would basically investigate the entire incident, with a view to evaluating the immediate and remote causes of the fire, determining the extent of damage, making recommendations to forestall future reoccurrence, amongst other issues that may arise during the cause of their investigation.
Stating that the committee is expected to turn in their reports within the next two weeks, the MD noted that the Nigerian Police Force would also continue its parallel investigation to unravel the cause of the incident.
While apologizing to the general public and road users around the FAAN headquarters for inconveniences that might have arisen within the period of the incident, he affirmed that the Authority will not shut down its headquarters as operations will continue, since a larger section of the offices was not affected.