60-year-old woman escapes death as fire razes two buildings in Lagos
A 60-year-old woman, identified as Jokotade Olaniyi,on New Year Day, narrowly escaped death when fire engulfed a one-storey building and a bungalow in Bariga Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Lagos State.
Our correspondent who visited the scence, gathered that the fire which razed the two buildings located at 43 Ifelodun Street, Bariga, started at about 7:30 pm, on Monday when many of the occupants had travelled for Christmas.
The two buildings were said to have over 23 apartments.
The razed building
Narrating her experience, Olaniyi told Daily Times that the fire started when a gas cylinder exploded from one of the apartments of the storey building which quickly spread to the bungalow beside it.
She explained: “ I was woken up from sleep by the sound of the explosion. Before I could figure out what was going on, I started hearing fire, fire. By the time I ran out of my room, fire had consumed the whole of the storey building.
At this point, getting out of my apartment was a problem beacuse the entrace was covered with thick smoke. But with the help of neighbours, I managed to escape as the fire shortly spreads to the bungalow and my apartment”.
The 60-year-old woman told our correspondent that she lost everything to the inferno while appealing to the Lagos State Government to assist her.
An occupant of the storey building who identified himself as Chike Osuagwu, whose wife and kids travelled to his village for Christmas also narrated his ordeal.
“I was set to travel this night by night bus to the village and celebrate the New Year with my family before this wahala came.
It is really a painful way to start the year. I lost all my properties plus N260,000 contribution for community project that I was to send home”, he said.
Osuagwu who sells second-hand clothes at Yaba Market, decried the late arrival of men of the Lagos State and Federal Fire Service, adding that they came two hours after the fire started.
His words: “We called firefighters on 112 but they did not respond on time. If they had responded on time,we would not have lost everything”.
A community leader in the area known as Apostle Bolaji, told Daily Times that concerned neighbours, who came out to prevent the fire from spreading to adjoining buildings, were taken aback by an explosion from other gas cylinders in the buildings which had over 23 apartments.
It took the combined efforts of men of the Lagos State and Federal Fire Service who arrived at the scence two hours after the fire started to put out the fire.
Effort by our correspondent to get the actual cause of the inferno from officials of the Lagos State, Federal Fire Service and the police who were on ground to provide security proved abortive as they said they were not ready for any comment.
