Lagos high-rise fire kills at least 10 and injures 25

# Lagos high-rise fire kills at least 10 and injures 25

*Event date: 2025-09-18.*

At least 10 people have died and 25 others were injured after a fire tore through a high-rise office building in Lagos, with survivors jumping from upper floors as smoke filled the structure.

The BBC reported that the blaze struck Afriland Towers, a seven-storey building in Nigeria's commercial capital that housed multiple companies and organisations. Videos shared on social media showed occupants jumping from the third and fourth floors when the fire broke out.

The people inside were commercial workers trapped by smoke and confusion. According to the BBC report, many of the survivors suffered burns and fractures while trying to escape, while others were treated for respiratory distress linked to smoke inhalation.

The report says the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency believed the fire started in the basement where electrical equipment was installed. Officials said they suspected poor maintenance and inadequate ventilation in the inverter battery area caused overheating and combustion.

The agency's initial statement also pointed to wider safety failures. It said there was no mechanical smoke extraction system, public address systems were not functioning, signage was inadequate and the building had sealed windows, all of which contributed to panic and confusion. It added that the building and facility managers inhaled smoke and passed out, leaving no incident manager or safety warden in charge.

Witnesses described people trying to save one another as the fire spread. A trader who saw the incident told the BBC that some people were so frightened they hesitated to jump, and bystanders used a wooden ladder to help them escape. That detail captures the speed with which the emergency escalated.

President Bola Tinubu called the incident unfortunate and offered condolences to families of the dead. The Nigeria Federal Fire Service said it had launched an investigation into the cause of the blaze, including the state of safety systems, maintenance practices and fire-code compliance.

The case is likely to prompt hard questions about fire safety enforcement in office buildings in Lagos, where dense commercial activity and aging electrical systems can create serious hazards. The BBC report shows that the immediate damage was not caused only by flames, but by smoke, design failures and the lack of a clear evacuation structure.

For Nigeria's largest city, the fire is another reminder that vertical workplaces can become deadly in minutes when alarm systems fail and escape routes are overwhelmed. The investigation may explain what sparked the blaze, but the early accounts already point to a preventable disaster compounded by poor preparedness.