Fire razes 22 apartments, destroys properties in Lagos

Properties and goods worth millions of naira were destroyed when a 22-apartment bungalow was gutted in the Yaba area of Lagos.The Guardian learnt that the incident occurred on Monday, February 26, at about 10:00 p.m., at No 19, Amusa Street, Abule Oja, Yaba.

Occupants affected by the incident included 15 students of the University of Lagos. An eyewitness said the fire was caused by a candle light; the entire apartment was completely burnt and that the residents could not salvage any of their belongings.

Caretaker of the building, David Obalufe, said the fire service in the neighbourhood was alerted. But when response was slow, the service stations at Surulere and Orile were notified.

“Unfortunately, the structure and properties had already been burnt before they arrived. They were only able to control and prevent the fire from spreading to neighbouring buildings,” he said.

On the cause of the fire, Obalufe said: “We have not had power for one month. We had been using generators. It was a little girl that put on a candle light and within some minutes, we heard cries of a fire outbreak. Thanks be to God, only a dog died in the incident. But many properties and academic documents were burnt. We have 15 students here. About 22 rooms were burnt.”

He added: “The incident was caused by a candle lit by a family of five, specifically, a mother and her children. The children were said to have lit candles in the room as there has been total darkness as a result of the power outage.”

A victim, Maureen Umoh, said she could not salvage anything. “I am pleading with the Lagos State government to help us. We know that times are difficult. But any offer of help will be appreciated. I have nothing left and nowhere to sleep. My children and I slept outside till dawn,” she lamented.

Another, Osai Tobias, said: “I was in my shop when I was informed that my apartment was on fire. When I reached home, I tried to put out the fire using soap and water. But I could not due to the intensity of the flames. I thank God that my seven children who were sleeping when the fire gutted my apartment were rescued.

“My room and money of about N500,000 or more were burnt because I do Point of Sales (PoS) business; as well as my two fridges and air conditioner. The cash I rescued this morning had already been burnt. Nothing came out of the 21 rooms because everyone was trying to save his or her head.”

Meanwhile, a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Adebola Shabi, who visited the scene, sympathised with the residents and donated N1 million to the victims.

Shabi, an engineer, advised residents to guard against future recurrence. He added: “Please, we need the support of the Lagos State government. Let Lagos State help us. Everything is hard. We could not pick up anything, even clothes. We need to be very careful. If there was power, the student would not have used a candle.”