BY PETER OKUTU, Abakaliki

A FIRE outbreak which occurred on Thursday, January 12, 2012 at Mgbalukwu community in Izzi local government area of Ebonyi State led to the horrific death of four children of a well known school teacher in the locality, Mr. Godwin Nwodom. The midnight inferno also led to the  destruction of properties estimated at several millions of Naira.

The unfortunate incident sent shivers down the spines of  people in the community even as the bereaved family is still counting its losses despite consolations from well meaning Nigerians.

Vanguard Metro VM gathered that the fire which razed down the building of Mr. Nwodom was ignited when his wife, Mrs. Ijeoma Nwodom decided to attend to customers who came to their residence to buy fuel which was apparently hoarded in a bid to make more money during the fuel subsidy removal saga.

It would be recalled that the State Government had mounted series of campaigns against storing inflammable materials within residential neighbourhoods.

Giving a account of what transpired that fateful Thursday,  Mr. Nwodom said: “Some people came to buy fuel around 12 mid night, and my wife went to attend to them because the gallons that contain the fuel were packed in one of the rooms inside the house.

...the burnt house

Fuel out of the jerry can

As my wife was trying to get the fuel out of the jerry can, the content splashed on the lantern she was using. Suddenly fire was ignited and spread over the entire room in a twinkling of an eye. Meanwhile, my children were in another room opposite the one that housed the fuel, sleeping and unaware that they will never wake up to see another day.

“And because the fire had already burnt some parts of my wife’s body, she could not remember the safety of the children. Even when sympathizers came around, she was only shouting fire, fire, fire oh, forgetting at the children were sleeping in the other room” Mr. Nwodom lamented

Continuing, Mr. Nwodom explained that “when pandemonium was let loose and the safety of the children was still questionable, I, as the bread winner of the family, who would have attempted an act of bravery to save my children, I was in a nearby community attending the burial ceremony of one of my relatives”.

At the time VM visited the community, only debris of the house were seen as sympathizers were still lingering around the area, amazed as to how quick a man’s fortune could come to an end simply because of an outbreak of a fire disaster.

The Nwodoms who lost their lives in the midnight disaster were Ogechi 14, Ifesinachi, 12, Mbam Nwareke 10 and Beatrice who was also aged 10. They have since been buried while their mother, Mrs. Ijeoma Nwodom is still receiving treatment at Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu.

Among the items destroyed by the inferno include: 10 bags of rice, eight bundles of zinc, a wheel barrow, a Tiger Power generating set, 100 tubers of yam, a cash of N40, 000 and other household properties worth millions of naira.

Sources told VM that the mother of the deceased whose carelessness caused the inferno, is in a deep blue sea, not knowing what to do with her life. Mr. Godwin Nwodom who wept uncontrollably, told VM that the inferno has rendered him and his surviving wife hopeless in life. He called on the State government to come to their aid as they lost all their life’s savings to the disaster.

Chairman, Izzi Local Government Area, Chief Dustan Nwogbaga who visited the scene, commiserated with the family and called on the survivors to take solace in God, whom he described as the best comforter.

Nwogbaga described the incident as  unfortunate and advised the people of the area to avoid storing fuel in their homes as such was capable of causing more harm than good. He  presented five rolls of wrappers, four bushels of rice, ten bundles of zinc, a bag of beans and a cash of N100, 000 to the affected family.

A member of the family, Mr. Andrew Nwodom who commended the Council chairman for coming to their aid in such a critical time, said though the pain of losing four children was difficult to forget, they would still anchor their hope in God.

Meanwhile, Mr. Nwodom whose only remaining property were the clothes he wore before the incident and his mobile phone, also appealed to good spirited individuals and the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, to come to his assistance.