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Three kids burnt to death in midnight fire

By Yetunde Jeariogbe
21 February 2020   |   3:38 am
Three children have reportedly been killed in a midnight fire in a community in the Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State. It was gathered that parents of the children were not at home when the incident happened. While the father of the kids, who was said to be a musician

Fire engineer lists harmattan, bush burning, power surge, carelessness as causes of rising incidents

Three children have reportedly been killed in a midnight fire in a community in the Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State. It was gathered that parents of the children were not at home when the incident happened. While the father of the kids, who was said to be a musician, reportedly went to perform at an event, the mother allegedly eloped with a lover to a nearby hotel.

A resident, who preferred anonymity, told newsmen that the mother had locked the three children in a room and lit a candle before she left with the lover. He said: “The woman is a teacher. She left with her lover to a nearby hotel that night. The three children were locked up in a room and they got burnt beyond recognition in the inferno believed to have been caused by a lit candle. The children were aged five, four and two years respectively. She has been arrested by the police for investigation.”

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Haruna Mohammed, confirmed the incident in a statement. He, however, did not say anything about the arrest but said the victims sustained varying degrees of burns and all died on the spot while property worth millions of Naira were destroyed.

Meanwhile, Managing Director of Surveillant Fire Limited, Mr. Jumade Adejola, a fire engineer certified member of the Institute of Fire Engineers, UK (IFE), has said fire outbreaks are causing more harms than Boko Haram terrorists. He made this known in reaction to the incessant fire incidents in the country, noting that Nigerians should start giving more attention to fire outbreaks as they battle militants.

He attributed the incidence of fire to the harmattan season, bush burning, electricity power surge, and carelessness. Others are over-speeding by trucks that are not even well maintained, overloading of trucks and potholes. He further advised residents to always switch off all electronic appliances in their homes and various offices when not in use to avoid fire incidents caused by an electric power surge.

Adejola blamed law enforcement agencies for failing to enforce legislations made to curb erecting buildings without installing every necessary fire and security system. He said that there are codes and legislations that fire system should be installed in houses but questioned: “why are we not following up legislations to ensure that we implement it?”

Adejola said: “You are building an estate, you don’t have fire hydrant and you are getting approval from physical planning. How can that be approved when you don’t have the laid down plan for fire hydrant? Nobody is here to blame anyone but it is a call for us to wake up from our slumber. It is not only to run after Okada people, but it is also not only about security and do you know that fire is causing more death than Boko-haram?”

The veteran fire engineer said the firm is determined to create awareness among Nigerians on ways to combat the ever-increasing incidents of fire outbreaks amidst the several brutal cases reported across the nation in recent weeks. He lamented many have fallen victims of fire outbreaks because they fail to acquire fire control technologies like extinguishers, hydrants and other similar technologies.

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