Fire outbreak claims mother, 3 children as father escapes death in Lagos

It was a tragic end for a mother and her three children in Lagos, Thursday, as fired not ravaged their shop, but also claimed their lives, throwing the family into a state of mourning.

Properties worth millions of naira were also gutted in the inferno which occurred at about 2:38 am at B23 Ogunleye Street, off Adekunle Kuye Street, in Kilo area of Surulere. The victims were reportedly trapped in the fire while sleeping in the shop.

Although the cause of the fire which could not be ascertained as at the time of this report, it was gathered that four shops were gutted in all. The father of deceased children, however, escaped the inferno, but not without injuries.

The mother was identified as Hope, and the three children: Female- Chukwuka,  9;  male- Nonso, 7; and male- Ugochukwu, 6.   While the father was identified as Ignacious. The family was said to have been residing in one of the shops used for laundry services.

Tiamiyu Adesina, the general manager of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) who confirmed the incident, said emergency response team received a distress call via the emergency number and swung into action.

According to Adesina, the timely intervention of the agency and Lagos State Fire Service prevented the fire from escalating to other nearby buildings.

However, he added that in spite of the prompt activation of the Lagos State Fire Service and agency emergency respond to the scene of the incident, lives had been lost to the unfortunate disaster. He confirmed that father sustained severe injury.

“Investigation conducted by the ERT at the scene of the incident revealed that the cause of the fire which started around 2:38am could not be ascertained. Further information revealed that the fire affected (4) shops and it was said that a family which consists of the father, mother and three children sleeping in one of the shops were affected by the fire.

He explained that the remains of dead were recovered by the agency’s operatives and handed over to the Police at Aguda Police Station even as advised residents of the state to be safety cautious and avoid sleeping in the shops overnight.