Several houses, shops and vehicles were also destroyed by the fire. Its cause could not be immediately ascertained. The children: Feranmi, Christiana and Pelumi of ages 12, 7 and 5 respectively were said to have been locked up in one of the shops by their mother who reportedly went to visit her husband who lives far from Isolo.
Meanwhile, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State yesterday commiserated with the family of the three children, expressing deep shock over the disaster.
Ambode warned that the state government would no longer tolerate the violation of the law banning sleeping in markets and other public facilities, saying “relevant provisions of the law would apply to erring residents,”
The governor who raised a delegation led by the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Deputy Governor, Michael Ola-Dawodu to examine the extent to loss suffered by the residents, lamented that the loss of life especially losing three female siblings- Christiana 12, Feranmi 8 and Pelumi 6, to a preventable fire disaster is very painful.
When the fire started the children were fast asleep. Residents were said to have later heard their passionate cry for help. But help was far from them as everyone ran in different directions for safety apparently not to be electrocuted by the high tension wire directly above the affected area. Men of the Lagos State Fire Service later arrived the scene and managed to put out the raging fire. The charred remains of the children were later removed.
As at the time Saturday Vanguard visited the scene, the mother of the children was yet to return from where she went to.
Traders and residents around the area blamed the death of the children on their mother . One of them said: “We have warned her several times to always take the children along, whenever she is leaving for her husband ‘s place but she would always say that nothing would happen. If she had heeded the advice her children would have been alive now. Her husband lives far from her and she goes to visit him once in a while”.
Director, Lagos state fire service, Mr Rasak Fadipe said, “ eight lock-up shops six vehicles and a room and parlour were destroyed”.
On his part the South West spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency NEMA, Ibrahim Farinloye who described the incident as unfortunate, disclosed that: same night another outbreak of fire occurred at Travel Day Inn at Toyin st, off Allen Ikeja. Fire also destroyed 5 lock up shops and part of Divine Int. Hotel at Vion st. Owode Ajegunle.
The Director General of NEMA, Alh. Muhammad Sani-Sidi has appealed to Nigerians to be fire safety conscious and take utmost precautionary steps against actions that can cause fire outbreak in the society.
The Director General was more concerned of frequent fire outbreak with colossal loss of lives and properties.
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