The life of a young man simply identified as William, 32, had been cut short on Saturday, January 10, 2015 following a fire inferno that rocked his one-room apartment where he lived alone on Alabi Crescent in the Ijaiye area of Lagos State.
It was learnt that the smoke that filled his room at about 10PM had choked him to death before some neighbours arrived the scene.
The Director of the Lagos State Fire Service, Rasak Fadipe, who confirmed the incident, according to Punch reports said William’s body had burns.
He said, “It was few minutes to 10pm when we received the alert. Our Agege Fire Station responded with 10,000 litres of water. They inspected the house and observed there was no generator.
“We also enquired if he lighted a candle, but nobody could tell. From our observation, it was possible that a mosquito coil he lighted before going to bed wreaked the havoc.
“The house is a one room self-contained, built close to the entrance of the gate. We learnt he had not spent up to one year in the house when he died.”
“People need to be careful because this season helps fire to spread easily. We should add fire safety precautions to our families and communities’ discussion. This will help to reduce the outbreak of fire.”
