An inferno
accident has hit an apartment in Lagos leading to the tragic demise of two kids
while properties were destroyed.
Gloom
enveloped Bola Oyewo Street, Ifako-Ijaiye, Lagos State, on Sunday after two
siblings were killed in a fire incident.
The kids
were identified simply as four-year-old Olawale Akingbesote and his brother,
Adesire, aged 2.
PUNCH Metro
learnt that the deceased, their elder brother and their mother were together
around 9pm on Saturday.
It was
gathered that the mother went out to buy some items in the neighbourhood after
the children had gone to sleep. She was
said to have lit a candle to illuminate the apartment before leaving as there
was power outage.
A
correspondent was told that while the mother was away, the candle burnt down
and consumed a table it was placed on. It later spread to the clothes beside
the table.
It was
learnt that firefighters from the Lagos State Fire Service, officials of the
Lagos State Emergency Management Agency and policemen from the Iju Police
Division responded to distress calls from residents, but the two kids had died
before help could come their way.
The unnamed
elder brother was, however, rescued with the support of the residents, while
the fire was eventually put out. A resident, Moshood Ibrahim, said the fire had
spread to other parts of the room before a neighbour became aware and raised
the alarm.
He stated
that the distraught mother and the survivor had temporarily relocated to a
relative’s house.
He said,
“Their mother went out that evening to quickly get some items on the street,
but she returned late. The candle had burnt to some level before she left home.
Her thinking was that she would come back early.
“She did not
put out the candle fire because she did not want the children to sleep in a
dark room. Their father was not around. Two of the children were suffocated by
the fumes, but their elder brother was rescued and rushed to a hospital.
Everybody was devastated by the incident.”
An emergency
official, who spoke to a correspondent on condition of anonymity, said the
survivor was rescued behind the apartment door.
“He should
be about eight years old. He managed to force his way from the fire into the
back of the door, where we rescued him,” he added.
The
Director, Lagos State Fire Service, Mr. Rasaq Fadipe, confirmed the fire and
the deaths.
He said, “When we arrived at the scene, fire
was still on in the room where the kids lost their lives. The information we
gathered was that the mother went out and the father was not around as well.
The two kids were inside the room and the candle was alight. It was the candle
that caused the inferno.
“We were
able to rescue one of the children and saved other rooms from being affected by
the fire. It happened around 9.30pm and our fire station at Agege responded to
the emergency.”
Fadipe
stated that the agency also responded to fire incidents at a one-storeyed
building on Wole Bamiduro Street in the Ahmadiyya area of the state, as well as
a bungalow on Oseni Liadi Street, in the Okota area of the state.
“No casualty
was recorded in the two incidents. We urge residents to discontinue the use of
candles at homes. It is very delicate and has been consuming lives. There are
rechargeable lamps and torches that are cheap and risk-free.
“I want to
admonish politicians, who have been carrying out series of empowerment
programme, to include torches and rechargeable lamps in the materials they have
been providing for the populace. This will go a long way in preventing loss of
lives and property.”
Source:
Punch
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