3 family members burn to death in Lagos; As fire razes 4-bedroom duplex, 8 hours before daughter’s engagement ceremony; London-based woman, newly-employed involved

04.01.2008

THREE members of a family died in a fire which razed their residence on Thursday at Plot 564, Omole Phase II, Lagos. Eyewitnesses told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the fire started at about 3 a.m. on the upper terrace of the four-bedroom duplex.

It took the intervention of neighbours and the fire service to rescue 15 other people, including the owner of the house, Mr. Dotun Osiyemi.

Some relations of the deceased who witnessed the incident said that they had to break the walls and use a ladder to rescue the 15 people.

One of the relations said the family was set for the engagement ceremony of one of its daughters, scheduled for 11 a.m. on the day of the incident in the same house.

Guests who arrived at the venue in the morning expressed shock over the incident. Among the deceased was a woman who was on Christmas holiday from the United Kingdom with her daughter.

Another was a man in his 20s who was to report for work as a new employee today after completing his NYSC programme. A driver, who gave his name simply as Akin, said he went for the firemen at Alausa, Ikeja, immediately the fire started.

“It took two hours to put out the fire,” he said. Family members described the fire as “mysterious” because they could not trace the cause as there was no electricity supply and the generator was not on at the time of the incident.

Mr. Olatunji Afoke, the Director, Lagos State Fire Service, confirmed the incident, saying that he deployed two fire fighting engines to the house immediately he got the report.

“At a point, my men had to go back to replenish the water because the inferno was so much,’’ he said. “The fire calls for question because it was too much for a residential apartment, and the cause could not be ascertained.’’

Meanwhile, the bodies of the victims have been deposited in a mortuary in Lagos, while others who sustained injuries are receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital.