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.”