A devastating fire outbreak in the early hours of Friday has claimed the lives of a husband, his wife, and their grandson in a storey building located in the Ori-Eru, Idikan area of Ibadan.
The Oyo State Fire Services Agency confirmed the incident, which occurred around 3:46 a.m., in a statement released by its General Manager, Yemi Akinyinka.
According to Akinyinka, the agency received a distress call from a resident identified as Hassan and promptly dispatched firefighters to the scene. Upon arrival, the upper floor of a six-room residential building was engulfed in flames.
“On arrival, we found the upper floor of the building well alight and swiftly moved into action to extinguish the fire completely,” Akinyinka stated.
Sadly, the fire claimed three lives, while five other residents were rescued alive. The ground floor of the building and nearby properties were saved from the inferno, preventing further loss of life and property.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the tragic incident was caused by an attempt to keep the house warm using a naked flame, which ignited while the victims slept.
Akinyinka commended the swift response of security operatives, including a police team led by CSP Olaniyan Jibola from Mapo Division and Amotekun operatives led by Gbenga Akinyemi from the North West Division, who ensured law and order were maintained at the scene.
