Our quick response prevented FESTAC fire, saysFadipe  

Director of Lagos State Fire Service, MrRasaqFadipe, has said that the quick response of his men in FESTAC, Ojo, and Isolo prevented the fire incidents in Ikotun and FESTAC area.

Fadipe stated this while responding to the fire that gutted a storey building and a twin duplex in Ikotun and FESTACtown.

It would be recalled that a 31-year-old man reportedly died on Friday night in a fire that razed a three-storey building on 19, Olusi Street, Lagos Island.

It was gathered that the deceased named Aare, visited his mother earlier to celebrate Eid-el-Fitr with her.

It is believed that he choked to death when he returned to his mother’s place to retrieve his documents from the fire.

Some of the residents said it might have been caused by gas, others fingered petrol.

A resident, who gave his name as Jamiu, said the fire started around 10p.m.

He said: “Gas? Petrol? No one really knows the cause of the fire. The third floor had a penthouse, so we really don’t know where the fire started from.”

Another witness, who is called Alhaja, said he rented the apartment for his aged mother who occupies the third floor, adding that his mother was still thankful no life was lost when they vacated the building.

“She didn’t know her son was dead. Nobody said anything. He left his mother’s place that evening but when he got a phone call that the building was on fire, he returned, thinking that his mother was in danger. Immediately he got to the scene, he rushed upstairs to save his documents. That was the last we saw of him. His body was found at the entrance in standing position.”

“It is a big tragedy. Just last month, he bought a plasma television for his mother and he had also planned to move into his own house this December. He was a determined man. I really wish he had a child before his death,” she said.

The residents of the area accused some residents of storing petrol in their homes.

“They sold it at cheaper rate because it was not from a clean source. That could be the cause.”

However, the deceased has been buried at the Ikoyi cemetery.