By Bose Adelaja & Monsur Olowoopejo

No fewer than 23 persons were said to have died, while 10 others suffered varying degrees of injuries from disasters which occurred in the South-west zone in the past three months.  Also, about 200 fire incidents were jointly handled by fire fighters both at the states and federal level during this period.

The National Emergency Management Agency NEMA, South West zone, who disclosed this, yesterday, said out of the figure, seven children, including a six-month-old baby were lost to an inferno. The Zonal Office, who was reviewing its activities from March to June, 2015, made the disclosure, saying two suicide attempts were also recorded during this period.

NEMA South-west Information Officer, Ibrahim Farinloye, said out of the suicide attempts, one person who climbed a television mast was rescued alive while the other one had died before help could reach him. He gave kudos to Lagos State Fire Service for effective use of the state-of-the art fire appliances acquired by the state government, to attend to about five fire calls daily.

The emergency management lamented that in the period under review, a fire fighter was lost in active service while trying to rescue a victim in a local well; “He was in coma for a long time before giving up the ghost,” Farinloye said. This incident according to NEMA, really dampened the morale, passion and spirits of the fire fighters being the first calamity among them.