Fire guts UNILAG postgraduate hostel

Fire broke out at the Henry Carr postgraduate hall of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) last Monday evening due to what was termed, “power surge” within the hostel. 

Eyewitnesses said the fire started at room A-202 in the A Block section of the hostel and not much damage was caused before it was put out.

In the process, a mattress and a few valuables got burnt but nobody was hurt in the process. 

This is contrary to rumours that the fire was escalating beyond the control of the school’s fire services officials.

The university management had since confirmed the incident.

University spokesperson, Taiwo Oloyede said the fire “has already been put under firm control.”

According to her, the affected room was also being put into good use again for the occupants of the room.

“Contrary to the wide spread speculation that there was an inferno inside the Akoka campus of the institution and that the situation degenerated due to the non-availability of fire extinguishers, the university community and the general public should note that there was no case of such,” Oloyede stated.

“The fire was promptly put out by hostel personnel with the use of fire extinguishers within the hostel premises, thus such news of non-availability of fire extinguishers should be disregarded.”

Explaining the cause of the fire, she said that it happened as a result of a power surge, “one of the sockets with a charger plugged in it was affected, hence, the spark that led to the fire incident.

“This gutted some parts of the room and a mattress, which was what alerted the hostel personnel who acted quickly to put the situation under firm control with the use of the available fire extinguishers in the hostel.

“Students of the university are hereby urged to be conscious of the dangers associated with careless use of appliances, which could sometimes be highly susceptible to fire outbreaks. We also assure that the best will be done by the management to forestall future occurrence.”