Tragedy struck on Thursday in the Ikota Housing Estate, in the Lekki area of Lagos State, after a seven-month-old baby was burnt to death in a fire incident.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the child was locked up in the room by the mother, who was cooking in the kitchen.
She was said to have left the kitchen for somewhere else, when the fire broke out.
Residents were said to have called officials of the Lagos State Fire Service.
But it was too late as the building had been razed down, while the child was burnt to death.
A witness said, “The family, Mr. and Mrs. Monday, just moved into the house.
“The woman was cooking something in the kitchen and she locked up her baby in the room. She later left the house. A few minutes later, fire broke out in the house and people called the fire service. But by the time they came, the structure had been razed, while the baby was dead.”
The Director of the state fire service, Rasak Fadipe, who confirmed the incident, said firefighters from the Lekki Phase 2 station responded with 10,000 litres of water, adding that the damage had been done before they could get there.
Fadipe, who said the rate of fire outbreak was increasing due to the harmattan season, said the agency responded to other four fire incidents.
He said, “The incident happened around 10am and our men from Eti-Osa went there. Preliminary investigation shows that the baby was locked up inside the room while the mother cooked in the kitchen where the fire started from.
“People should be careful at this period. Refuse burning is rampant and people have to be warned to stop the habit. We should start policing one another. If you see somebody packing refuse, or bags of dirt, watch how he or she will dispose it because if the person sets fire on it, there is a tendency it can lead to a fire outbreak.
“Anytime there is fire, please don’t hesitate to call the fire service. Even if you can handle it, call us just in case it gets out of hand.”
PUNCH Metro learnt that the child was locked up in the room by the mother, who was cooking in the kitchen.
She was said to have left the kitchen for somewhere else, when the fire broke out.
Residents were said to have called officials of the Lagos State Fire Service.
But it was too late as the building had been razed down, while the child was burnt to death.
A witness said, “The family, Mr. and Mrs. Monday, just moved into the house.
“The woman was cooking something in the kitchen and she locked up her baby in the room. She later left the house. A few minutes later, fire broke out in the house and people called the fire service. But by the time they came, the structure had been razed, while the baby was dead.”
The Director of the state fire service, Rasak Fadipe, who confirmed the incident, said firefighters from the Lekki Phase 2 station responded with 10,000 litres of water, adding that the damage had been done before they could get there.
Fadipe, who said the rate of fire outbreak was increasing due to the harmattan season, said the agency responded to other four fire incidents.
He said, “The incident happened around 10am and our men from Eti-Osa went there. Preliminary investigation shows that the baby was locked up inside the room while the mother cooked in the kitchen where the fire started from.
“People should be careful at this period. Refuse burning is rampant and people have to be warned to stop the habit. We should start policing one another. If you see somebody packing refuse, or bags of dirt, watch how he or she will dispose it because if the person sets fire on it, there is a tendency it can lead to a fire outbreak.
“Anytime there is fire, please don’t hesitate to call the fire service. Even if you can handle it, call us just in case it gets out of hand.”
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