Shittu raises hope of fire victims for govt support

By Damilola Kushimo

Help may be on the way for the distressed victims of the fire that burnt  two flat apartments at 8, Lateef Adegboyega Street, Ago Palace Way, Isolo, thanks to Hon. Remy Shittu Remy, the Leader of the Legislative Arm of Isolo Local Council Development Area

Speaking after visiting the site and commiserating with the victims,Remy promised to relate the depressive situation of the two victims who have been rendered homeless to the Council Chairman, Hon. Shamsudeen Olaleye Shammeh for assistance.

While narrating the incident, one of the occupants of the building, Mr. Chris Nwachukwu, explained that the fire broke out as a result electrical surge from air conditioner switch in one of the three flats when power was restored. 

According to him, they  could not put out the fire  untill it destroyed  properties in two of the three apartments and damaged the roof of the third one before the firefighters came to complement the efforts of the neighbors. 

Nwachukwu explained that the damage would have been limited had the firefighters arrived on time.

He said: “The fire emanated from the third flat, at the back but no one could have noticed it at the initial stage. An elder brother of the occupant was the only one in the apartment as at that time but he’s physically challenged, his cry for help when he was feeling choked was what caught the attention of neighbours, Okada and Maruwa drivers in the community and we had almost put out the fire before firefighters came around.

“When my younger brother couldn’t find his way to the fire service station along Oshodi-Apapa Expressway, he went to the federal fire service at Festac and the workers there told him that they needed to get a confirmation from someone before they could come. Luckily enough, he’s a red cross member, he showed them his ID card and they even had to get all information on it down before they followed him.

“They arrived almost after three hours when the house started burning, it was around that time that men from Lagos Response Unit (LRU) came and they apologised for coming late, saying they were held up in traffic.

Nwachukwu, therefore, appealed to the government to find lasting solution to the issue of traffic hold-up in Lagos State.