Fire outbreak at a residential building on Bola Street in the Oyingbo area of Lagos State has resulted in the death of a 103-year-old woman and the destruction of several properties.
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, confirmed the incident in a statement issued by its Permanent Secretary, Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, who said the agency received a distress call at about noon on Friday.
According to him, emergency responders arrived at the scene at 12:13 p.m. and discovered that a bungalow with two shops attached had been completely engulfed by fire.
“Upon the arrival of the LRT at the incident scene by 12:13 hours, it was observed that a residential bungalow with two shops attached was engulfed by fire at the aforementioned location,” Oke-Osanyintolu said.
He explained that the fire was first noticed in one of the rooms before spreading rapidly to other parts of the building, adding that the cause of the outbreak had not yet been determined.
“The fire reportedly started in a room before spreading to other rooms within the building. However, the cause of the fire had yet to be ascertained as of the time of filing this report,” he stated.
The permanent secretary said emergency response procedures were immediately activated, but a preliminary assessment confirmed that the elderly woman trapped in the building did not survive the incident.
“Unfortunately, one life, a 103-year-old centenarian (name withheld), was lost to the incident,” he added.
Oke-Osanyintolu disclosed that the fire affected eight rooms, a mini flat, six shops and several household items within the premises.
He also noted that the remains of the deceased had been handed over to her family, while firefighters from LASEMA, in collaboration with other emergency responders, successfully extinguished the blaze.
“The recovered body has been handed over to the family for necessary action. The fire has been completely extinguished,” he said.
He added that rescue, recovery and dampening-down operations had been concluded, while authorities continued to assess the extent of damage caused by the incident.