How candle fire killed 2 sisters in Lagos

July 20, 2016

Oludolapo Adelana

Two siblings were killed in the Ipaja area of Lagos State in a fire incident suspected to have been caused by a candle.

According to PUNCH Metro the sisters – five-year-old Rokibat, and Amirat, three – were burnt to death at their parents’ house on Ifelodun Close, Ajasa Command.

Their mother was unable to reach the them in time due to the severity of the inferno. She was however, able to save two of their siblings.

The fire was put out by sympathisers and other residents before the arrival of officials of the Lagos State Fire Service who received the alert late and had problem locating the area.

A tenant, who spoke to the PUNCH Metro correspondent said the fire started around 12am.

He said, “I don’t know what caused it. What I can say is that around 12am, while I was asleep, my wife suddenly woke up and raised the alarm that our neighbour’s apartment was on fire.

“We later gathered that the woman and her four children were asleep when one of the children, who was in the parlour, screamed that fire was burning. Their mother grabbed him and their last born and took them to safety.

“As she attempted to run back to save the two girls who were still asleep, she could not open their iron door. The fire then aggravated and sympathisers had to pull her back. The two girls were burnt to death.”

The Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Rasak Fadipe, confirmed the incident.

He said, “The fire affected a bungalow consisting of five apartments. We were not called on time.

“From our investigations, there has not been light in the area for some days now. Some of the residents said it was a candle stick that caused the fire. The woman probably forgot to put it out, which led to the inferno.”

Oludolapo Adelana

Dolapo is a writer and journalist who works with YNaija. He has interests in Christianity, politics and sports.

Tags: candle, Federal Fire service, Fire, inferno, Ipaja, sisters