Passengers Scamper For Safety As Fire Guts MMIA …FAAN Blames Electrical Fault

A fire incident yesterday engulfed the second floor of the terminal of Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos.
It was, however, promptly put out before it could wreck a major damage on the facility.
Sources say the fire started at the second floor of the terminal in the commercial department of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) as a result of a surge in electricity supply.
When smoke was seen wafting from the floor in the building, passengers and other airport users at the departure hall began running helter-skelter for dear life.
Meanwhile, normalcy is gradually returning as the fire has been extinguished.
However, it has now been confirmed that the fire incident at the departures hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, yesterday was caused by an electrical fault
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), confirmed the cause of the inferno yesterday.
The fire outbreak, which sent travellers and aviation staff at the terminal scampering to safety as smoke billowed into the sky, was quickly extinguished by fire fighters.
FAAN’s General Manager, Corporate Communications, Yakubu Dati, described it as a “minor smoke incident.”
“The smoke was quickly traced to the electric panel room on the second floor of the terminal by a combined team of FAAN’s electrical engineers and fire officers,” said Dati.
Preliminary investigation, according to Dati, revealed that the incident was caused by a short circuit at the panel room which was arrested by the engineers on duty.
“The authority wishes to assure the travelling public and other airport users that there was no immediate danger to anyone as a result of the incident neither did it affect flight operations at the terminal,” Dati said.
“The Authority has directed the Directorate of Engineering and Maintenance to commence immediate investigation into the immediate and remote causes of the said short-circuiting of the cables.”
Two years ago, a similar incident, also caused by an electrical spark caused a blackout at the airport’s international terminal.