LAGOS— A two-year-old girl, identified as Uzoma, and her two
siblings, Ufoma, 9, and Emeka, 7, have been burnt to death after
fire gutted a three-room boys quarter at Egbeda in Alimosho
Local Government Area of Lagos State.


Vanguard gathered that the inferno, which consumed the three
siblings, a male and two females, started in their apartment at
about 10p.m. when the children were sleeping.
Sources said the fire was discovered by passers-by, who raised
the alarm to alert residents, as majority of tenants in the house
were yet to return from work.


Vanguard gathered that the inferno was caused by a candle lit by
their father, who locked the three children in his apartment and
left for the hospital, where his wife was receiving post-natal
care.


Effort to rescue the three children proved abortive.
Family escaped last year
A resident, who identified herself as Mama Bisi, lamented that a
similar incident occurred last year when the entire members of
the family were sleeping, adding, however, that they managed to
escape.


She added that the children would have escaped the inferno if
their father had yielded to the demands of his two-year-old
daughter that they should go with him.
It was learned that the mother of the children was in the hospital
where she delivered her baby last Friday.


The mother, it was gathered, would have been discharged from
hospital but for lack of funds which delayed her discharge.
When Vanguard visited the scene, residents were wailing over
the death of the children who were delivered through caesarean
section.
Also, it was learned that the landlord of the building had been
arrested by policemen attached to Shasha Police Station.


‘My son discovered the fire’
Mr. Christian Ononsolase, a commercial motorcycle operator,
who spoke with emotion, explained how the incident happened.
He said: “I sent my son on an errand and on his way back, he
discovered the fire and alerted the elders on the street.
“They raised alarm and everyone ran to the well to get water.
But the fire had escalated.


“The fire was put out by officials of the Lagos State Fire Service,
who were alerted a few minutes after the residents discovered
that the fire had escalated than they expected.


“Many did not know that the children were in the building. It was
after the fire was put out and we were assisting the occupants
of the building to salvage what was left of their property that we
discovered the children were locked up.”


Another resident, who identified himself as Bolu, said the fire
was escalated by the gas cylinder in the building, which
exploded.


Director of the State Fire Service, Mr. Rasaq Fadipe, confirmed
the story.

Source : Vanguard