BY TOM MOSES

NO fewer than six children and a mother yesterday lost their lives to a fire disaster which occurred at No 33 Ntia street off Ekpri Nsukara in Uyo , the Akwa-Ibom State capital.

Mr. Ekemini Obot, who is the grandson to the landlady, Madam Monica Effiong, whose house was consumed by the inferno told the Saturday Vanguard that the fire started at about 2 am Friday morning when most of the people in the neighbourhood had gone to bed.

According to him, his wife, who, went outside to urinate around 2 am noticed the fire in the next compound and raised alarm which attracted neighbours to come out to salvage the situation.

But he lamented that before they came out, the fire had consumed the seven persons who were sleeping in the rooms except his grandmother who sustained burns and rushed to the University of Uyo Teaching hospital for medical attention.

“I am Ekemini James Obot, the grandson to the land lady, the owner of the burnt house.

“The incident occurred around 2 am when my wife went outside to urinate and saw the fire and raised an alarm so we came outside and met the house burning.

“We noticed that the compound had been spread with petrol which helped the fire to burn easily”, he informed and gave the names of those that lost their lives as Daniel Sampson, Helen Sampson Itohoinyene Sampson all grand children to the landlady, Madam Monica Effiong .

Others are Nsikak, Queen, Nsisong and their mother, Happy all tenants.

He alleged the cause of the fire incident to have been masterminded by a man who had land dispute with his grandmother and had promised to deal with her.

Obot lamented that before the Fire Service team could arrive the scene that night to rescue the situation, the fire gutted the entire structure.

Confirming the incident, the Director of Fire Service in the state, Mr. Ndarake Ukpe, said he had just been informed of the incident and lamented that the residents of the area could not contact the Fire Service on time because they did not have the fire service phone numbers.

He said, “My Commander has just informed me but he has not given me details, we are investigating the cause of the incident.

“The residents of the area did not have our phone numbers, it was even the policemen on patrol that informed us”, he stressed.