Tragedy struck Lagos on Friday as a 103-year-old woman lost her life in a devastating fire outbreak that razed her apartment at No. 8, Bola Street, off Kadara Street, Oyingbo, in Lagos Mainland Local Government Area.
The incident was confirmed by the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu. According to reports, the elderly woman was asleep when the fire broke out and was unable to escape before the flames spread through the building.
Dr. Oke-Osanyintolu explained that the fire reportedly started in one of the rooms and rapidly extended to other parts of the structure. The inferno affected eight rooms and a living room, a mini-flat, a self-contained apartment, and six shops, destroying household items worth millions of naira.
He disclosed that distress calls were received via the 767/112 emergency lines at about 11:43am, prompting LASEMA to activate the State Emergency Response Plan from its Onipanu Base. Emergency responders arrived at the scene around 12:13pm, conducted a risk assessment, and cordoned off the area to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby buildings.
Although the fire was eventually brought under control after hours of coordinated intervention, the centenarian did not survive. Her remains were later handed over to her family for burial arrangements.
Dr. Oke-Osanyintolu commended the swift response of emergency agencies and urged residents to strictly observe fire safety measures, noting that investigations into the immediate and remote causes of the fire were still ongoing.
