Family of four, neighbour burnt in early morning fire

LAGOS — A woman, her three
children and a neighbour were
at the early hours of
Wednesday, burnt to death at
Shagari Estate, Musan, in
Musan-Okunola Local Council
Development Area, LCDA, of
Lagos State.
The fire, as gathered, started
at about 1.15 am in a three-
bedroom flat located on 9, CH
street.
Eye witnesses said one of the
victims identified simply as
Aunty Philo, alerted neighbours
with the shout of fire.
But before sympathizers could
rush to the flat, the fire had
reportedly spread to the entire
building, in the process of
which the roof fell on Philo,
burning her beyond
recognition.
Efforts by youths in the area to
safe the situation failed.
An eye witness who spoke on
condition of anonymity told
Vanguard: "We saw Aunty Philo
trying to force the burglary
proof open but she could not.
At that time, we tried to break
the wall to rescue her when all
of a sudden the roof fell on her.
"When we eventually
succeeded in pulling down the
burglary proof, we saw roasted
members of the family on the
floor. We could not do anything
again but had to leave because
of thick smoke."
Identities of the victims were
given as Mrs Anwuzia, said to
be in her fifties, Ekene (16),
Emeka (7) and Nwike (30). The
mother of three whose
husband was said to be away,
reportedly returned from a
church programme in Ghana
the previous day.
Her husband, a Pastor, was
said to have travelled to Aba,
Abia State for an undisclosed
assignment.
Fire service men were said to
have arrived the scene later
and succeeded in putting out
the fire, but the harm had been
done.
Contacted, Director, Lagos
State Fire Service, Mr Rasaq
Fadipe, confirmed the death of
five persons, saying that news
of the incident was received at
about 1.39 am
He said: "We had to mobilise a
truck of 10,000 water capacity
from Ikotun to the scene. On
reaching there the fire was still
on. Because of the magnitude,
we had to mobilise another
truck from Agege with another
10,000 litres to compliment
the first one, before the fire
was contained.
"Unfortunately, we saw the
charred remains of the victims.
We saw four of them and later
discovered the fifth one. We
handed the corpses to
policemen who also arrived the
scene."
Fadipe said the family of four
could have been suffocated by
smoke from the inferno which
prevented them from escaping
from the flat before they were
burnt.
The inferno, according to him,
was also suspected to have
been caused by candle, noting:
"When we got there, there was
no light, which ruled out the
possibility of it being cause by
electrical fault. We suspect it
could have been caused by
candle."

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