Fresh fire at Makoko, 6 structures burnt

By MONSUR OLOWOOPEJO

Six structures in Makoko waterfront community, Yaba Local Government, Lagos, were Monday razed; destroying property which monetary value is yet to be ascertained.

This came barely 24 hours after a storey building on Igando road, Ikotun-Igando Local Council Development Area, (LCDA), was gutted by fire.

When Vanguard visited the scene of the fire disaster, it was gathered that one of the structures on the water went up in flames at about 12:45 am, spreading quickly to the others.

It was also gathered that the fire which razed the structures constructed with planks and roofing sheets, located at Mappo area of the community, occurred when an electrical wire in one of the structures malfunctioned.

Vanguard learnt that the inferno was aided by the harmattan weather which had caused the planks to dry; escalating the fire.

It was learnt that victims had since vacate the premises of the incident to take shelter with relatives.

Speaking on behalf of the community, General Secretary Makoko-Iwaya waterfront community, Mr. John Mautin Keke, lamented “it is pathetic that this is happening at this time of the year when the weather is very cold for one to live without shelter.”

Keke further  said “We thank our Creator that it was only six structures that were affected by the inferno which occurred at about 1:00 pm. And there was no loss of life.”

He added that that some of the residents sustained minor injurise while trying to save others from the fire disaster.

The secretary noted that the fire was put off by the residents before men of the Lagos State fire Service could arrived the scene.

Explaining the effort of the residents in putting off the fire, Kayode, one of the residents, who spoke in yoruba, said “Immediately I discovered that the fire was caused by an electrical spark, I ran to the transformer to remove the fuse to avert any electricution.”

“After that, we collected water from the river to extinguish the fire before it spreads to other structures in the community,” he added.