Four persons have been reported dead with a couple half dead following a fire outbreak that gutted a building in the Ezinwafo village of Mbaukwu in Awka South local government of Anambra state.
Among the victims of the inferno was a new born baby and the grand mother who was on an ‘Omugwo’ visit to her daughter.
The fire which gutted the entire building was said to have started in the early hours of Sunday, February 1, 2015 precisely around 2a.m.
The three other victims of the inferno included a little child who accompanied the woman on the visit and one other child all unidentified.
The parents of the newborn baby survived the incident although doctors said their chances of survival was very slim following the serious degree of burn injuries they sustained.
A source from the resident, Chineye Nzekwe, said he had jolted from sleep by loud bangs which he initially thought was coming from armed robbers but was shocked when he got to the scene and saw the couple trying to escape the fire inferno with fire all over their bodies.
It took the intervention of people around to put out the fire on them, while the neighbours and men of the Anambra State Fire Service helped to douse the inferno.
Confirming the incident, the Senior Fire Superintendent in the State fire Service, Kingsley Nwokoye, said his men were not alerted in good time as they only managed to douse the fire from spreading into other buildings.
Although Nwokoye stated that investigation into the cause of the outbreak was ongoing, but he speculated that the fire emanated from inflammable materials in the apartment due to the nature of damages caused by it.
A medical official from the hospital where the couple were being treated Dr. Amaechi Nwachukwu said the couple were brought to the hospital at about 5a.m in a critical condition with 80 per cent burns and some inhalation injuries.
Nwachukwu further called on well-meaning persons to help the couple offset the medical cost as they had already consumed so much of the hospital’s resources.
He further revealed that the couple is faced with complicated medical challenges including kidney failure, respiratory failure and infection due to the severity of the injuries.
