50-year-old killed, property razed in Lagos midnight fire

50-year-old killed, property razed in Lagos midnight fire

Tragedy struck on Sunday when a yet-to-be-identified man lost his life in a midnight fire in the Bariga area of Lagos State.

It was gathered that the fire, which occurred around 3am, razed 10 rooms in a bungalow consisting of 25 rooms and 18 shops.

It was learnt that another fire incident, involving a bungalow consisting of eight rooms and four shops, occurred in the Somolu area of the state.

The Director, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Services, Margaret Adeseye, confirmed the two incidents in a statement on Sunday.

She said, “The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Services overnight combated two fires in the Bariga and Somolu areas of the state.

“The first of the emergencies was notified at 12.31am Sunday, to 19, Apata Street, Somolu, while the other was reported at 3.19am to 48, Jagunmolu Street, Bariga, just as the former firefighting was concluded.

“The Somolu incident involved four rooms and three shops in a bungalow consisting of eight rooms and four shops, while the Bariga fire involved 10 rooms in a bungalow consisting of 25 rooms and 18 shops.

“The Ilupeju and Isolo fire crews that both responded to the two separate emergencies met them well alight and lamented delayed calls as fire had wreaked havoc before they were alerted to salvage the situations.

“The preliminary investigation revealed negligence as the undercurrent causes of both fires, which led to electrical upsurge as reported shock was witnessed at Somolu before the arrival of the firefighters.

“It was, however, unfortunate that a male adult of about 50 years of age was recovered and handed over to the State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit at Bariga, while that of Somolu did not involve any loss of life or injury.”

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident.