According to a report by Punch Metro, sympathisers thronged Alade Close, Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday after an early morning fire claimed the lives of a middle-aged businesswoman, her teenage maid and houseboy.

The deceased lived in a two-bedroomed apartment on the top floor of a one-storeyed building on the close.

Punch Metro reports that the woman’s husband and their daughter escaped from the fire, which started around 2am from their living room and spread to another two-bedroomed flat on the floor, whose occupants escaped unhurt.

Although the cause of the fire had yet to be officially determined, some residents claimed that it was caused by an electrical surge.

It was learnt that the houseboy, identified only Nonso, had wanted to use the toilet when he met fire burning in the living room and raised the alarm.

The couple were said to have fled downstairs with their child while Nonso battled to rescue the housemaid, who was trapped in the inferno.

Punch Metro reports that when the woman did not see the domestic helps, who were said to be her relations, she returned to the apartment in a desperate attempt to rescue them.

The three of them were thereafter trapped, as residents and men from the Lagos State Fire Service and the state emergency management agency fought to put out the raging fire.

During a visit to the scene of the incident, Punch Metro observed that the roof of the building and several household items had been razed.

A Toyota Camry and a Lexus RX 300 reportedly owned by the couple were parked outside the residence.

Grief filled the vicinity, as relatives and neighbours of the victims thronged to the scene, lamenting the incident.

Most of them approached Punch Metro said they were too distraught to speak on the tragedy.

However, a resident, who lives near the affected house, said he was woken up by a distress call from the house and rushed out to assist in extinguishing the fire.

The eyewitness, who did not want his name in print, said the three corpses were brought out from the flat around 5am after the fire had been put out.

He said Nonso had just returned from his village in the eastern part of the country to deposit his late father in a morgue, adding that he was the only son of his parents.

He said, “The man was a customs officer while his wife worked with the Federal Road Safety Corps, but I do not know their names. I only know Nonso, their houseboy. The woman also has a big shop at Alade Market.

“The fire started around 2am. People said the fire was caused by an electrical surge. The man escaped with his daughter. When they got downstairs and noticed that the domestic helps were still in the apartment, his wife returned to look for them. But by the time she got upstairs, smoke had filled everywhere.

Read More: https://www.nigeriandailies.com.ng/2018/04/lagos-businesswoman-her-teenage-maid.html

Very tragic, to think the woman lost her life trying to save her relatives.
BTW the power of love sometimes pushes one to do things that defy commonsense, cause going back into the burning house was a very dangerous thing to do

I breed in tears