Displaced occupants of razed building count losses

The rubble

Displaced occupants of 23A Ameen Street, Abule-Oja, Yaba, Lagos State, cannot erase January 16, 2013, from their memories.

On the fateful day, an evening fire, which cause had yet to be officially known, razed the entire building.

PUNCH Metro, however, learnt from some reliable sources that the disaster was caused by a power surge.

It was gathered that the fire started barely 10 minutes after the Power Holding Company of Nigeria restored electricity to the area around 6pm.

The victims said nothing was salvaged from the building as what was left after the blaze was only rubble.

No life was, however, lost as the occupants were said to have run outside while they watched helplessly as the fire burnt.

Firefighters were said to have come almost two hours into the incident and by then, they only succeeded in putting out the fire to stop it from spreading to other buildings in the neighbourhood.

A victim of the incident, Mr. Mazona Victor, told PUNCH Metro that the inferno had wrecked him.

Victor said apart from household items such as electronics, fridges, settees and clothing, other losses could not be quantified in naira and kobo.

He said, “The fire was so ferocious that within three hours, it had razed the building to the ground.

“I lost my degree certificates, my NYSC discharge certificate, travel documents and other important documents. In fact, the documents that have perished in the fire are the ones giving me more headaches. I am imagining the stress of getting them back with attendant bureaucracies in higher institutions and other establishments.

“The incident has really shattered my plans. I am now living with a friend and the distance to where I am teaching is another tale of woe.”

Another victim, who described himself only as Emmanuel, said his family lost almost N1m worth of property.

“In our two-room apartment, we lost everything; fridge, deep freezer, Plasma TV sets, documents, clothing and every household item you can think of.

“My family is now scattered as we divided ourselves to live with friends pending the time we will be able to sort ourselves out. Some people gave us some clothes to wear because what we wore on the fateful day were the only clothes we had left.

“The situation is pathetic. However, I thank God no life was lost. When there is life, there is hope.”

An eyewitness, Mr. Ezekiel Sunday, said on the fateful day, the fire threw the entire neighbourhood into confusion.

He, however, appealed to firefighters to always respond to emergencies quickly.

He said had the firefighters come to the scene immediately, the destruction could not have been so massive.

It was gathered that theChairman and other ranking officials of Yaba Local Council Development Area were at the scene of the inferno and gave stipends to the victims.

PUNCH