Fire engulfs ex-governor Shekarau’s Kano residence

The Mundubawa country home of former governor Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau has been gutted by Fire, destroying the sitting room of his second Wife, Halima Shekarau.

Although the fire was suspected to have started from the kitchen, the actual cause could not be immediately ascertained.

Officials of the State Fire Service struggled to put it off.

A source close to the family told the correspondent that the fire started from the inner kitchen.

He said, “we thank God the fire only affected one of Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau’s sitting roomm and already the Fire Service officials are working to quench it.”

The spokesperson of the State Fire Service confirmed the Incident.

“We are still at the house and you know I cannot comment on anything now because we are still trying to make sure that the fire didn’t spread to other places”, he added.

120 homeless as fire guts 44 rooms in Kwara

No fewer than 120 people were rendered homeless, while 44 rooms were destroyed on Monday in Megida Onikahun compound, Edun Isale in Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State where fire engulfed the ancient compound and the market in the area.

PUNCH Metro gathered that four aged people were evacuated by some Good Samaritans from the house as thick smoke engulfed the traditional building.

The Kwara State Fire Service however said that no one was injured in the incident which lasted for more than one hour before its men put out the raging fire.

Head of Media and Publicity of the state fire service, Hassan Adekunle, said the fire incident which started from a refuse dump in the morning was attended to around 11:08am by the state firefighters.

According to Adekunle, “The Kwara State Fire Service operatives responded to a fire incident at Megida Onikanhun Compound, Edun Isale, Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State on Monday, January 15, 2024.

The firefighters, upon arrival, found the entire compound and Edun Market engulfed in flames due to a late call. To enhance firefighting efforts, part of the fence was dismantled for better access.

“At 11:22 am, an assistant message was sent to the Brigade Headquarters for additional manpower, and the proficient firefighters successfully brought the situation under control within an hour before completely extinguishing the fire.

“Investigation revealed that an unknown person had ignited refuse, initially mistaken for harmless smoke. Unfortunately, it had spread to the nearby compound, lamenting that the incident left over 120 occupants homeless, affecting 44 rooms and a mosque in the 75-room Magaji Onikanhun Compound. Fortunately, there were no casualties”, he said.

“The Federal Fire Service and officers from the Department of Disaster Management of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and State Emergency Management Agency were present at the scene. The NSCDC officers ensured crowd control to prevent potential looting, safeguarding both market goods and the firefighters”, he said.

Adekunle said he expressed condolences to Magaji Megida Onikanhun’s representative, Kuranga Adebayo on behalf of the Director of the state Fire Service, Prince Falade Olumuyiwa, after the fire had been put under control.

He said that the director urged the general public to always play safe especially during this period of dry season and not to hesitate to call the fire brigade on time whenever there is any fire emergency in their areas, as this would save lives and property in the state.

Fire breaks out in NTA Sokoto office

An office of the Nigerian Television Authority in Sokoto has been gutted by fire.

The fire, which was said to have destroyed parts of the operational building of the station, lasted for hours before it was put out.

Confirming the fire incident in a post on its X on Sunday night, the national TV station said the fire was suspected to have been caused by a power surge.

The TV station said, “The fire that gutted parts of the operational building of NTA Sokoto network centre has been put out by the combined efforts of staff and intervention of firefighters.

“The inferno, which lasted for more than three hours, is now under control and has not affected the studio, equipment and other sensitive operational areas.”

It added that its engineers suspected “that the fire may have been as a result of high electricity voltage.”

“The OB van, equipment, and office furniture have also been saved from the inferno,” the statement on X said.

Fire guts warehouse in Onitsha

Fire on Tuesday gutted a warehouse in a three-storey building at 64 Venn Road in Onitsha, Anambra.

This is contained in a statement signed by the Anambra Fire Service chief, Martin Agbili, on Wednesday.

Mr Agbili said the fire service received a distress call of fire outbreak in a three-storey building at about 9:46 p.m. on Tuesday.

“We immediately deployed our fire trucks and our diligent firefighters to the scene of fire. The cause of the fire is unknown and no life was lost,” Mr Agbili explained.

“The fire partly affected the building and affected the goods at the ground floor as many vacuum flasks in the warehouse were destroyed.”

Fire guts EFCC office in Enugu

A building belonging to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Enugu has been gutted by fire.

EFCC Head of Media, Wilson Uwujaren who confirmed this in a statement issued on Friday afternoon, May 5, said one of the buildings within the Zonal Command was consumed by the inferno. No life was lost during the incident.

Uwajuren said;

“The incident which occurred at about 12.30 am Friday, was triggered by a surge in public power supply.

“The ensuing inferno was later put out through the combined efforts of the Enugu State and Federal Fire Service.”

16 killed, nine wounded in Dubai apartment fire

At least 16 people died, at the weekend, in a fire incident that swept through a residential building in an Al-Ras neighbourhood of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.

The fire, which broke out on the apartment’s fourth floor, also injured nine other residents.

The Dubai Civil Defence Force said preliminary investigations showed that the fire was caused by “a lack of compliance with building safety and security requirements.”

A statement by the civil defence said,

“Relevant authorities are conducting a comprehensive investigation to provide a detailed report on the causes of the accident.”

On Sunday, char marks could be seen on the apartment building, home to a grocery store, a smoke shop, and other businesses on its ground floor.

Illegal apartment partitioning has been a problem in Dubai for decades, worsened when the city-state sees real estate booms and economic growth like it is experiencing now.

Fires have broken out in skyscrapers in Dubai and other fast-growing cities in the UAE in recent years. In 2017, a large fire broke out at a high-rise under construction near the city’s largest shopping mall.

A fire engulfed a five-star hotel in Dubai on New Year’s Eve two years earlier, with several people injured.

Dubai is one of the seven emirates of the UAE and has a population of about 3.3 million, of whom nearly 90 per cent are foreigners.

Three persons killed as commercial bus catches fire in Kano

The Kano State Fire Service said three female passengers died while 13 others were injured when a commercial bus caught fire on Tuesday.

The spokesman for the fire service, Saminu Abdullahi, confirmed the incident in a statement.

The commercial vehicle, a Toyota Hiace with registration number XE 222 TRN, caught fire around the Government Technical College in Nassarawa local council.

According to the statement, the incident occurred while the bus from Ajingi LGA to Kofar Wambai caught fire.

The statement said fire personnel and Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) personnel put out the fire and rescued most of the victims, but three women were burnt beyond recognition.

The deceased included Surayya Umar and Zeenai Babaji. The name of the third individual was not provided.

The remaining 13 injured victims were taken to the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital, Kano.

The bus driver, Muhammed Gali, 35, and his bus conductor Hassan Danladi, 30, were not injured.

They were handed over to the police.The incident was attributed to a speed limit violation and a rear tyre blowout.

Fire guts UCH Ibadan residential apartment

A residential apartment inside the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, was gutted by fire on Tuesday evening.

An official of the Oyo State Fire Service, while confirming the incident on condition of anonymity, said the fire had been put out.

A witness in UCH said there was no loss of life in the incident, adding that only documents were lost to the fire outbreak.An electrical surge reportedly caused the fire.

The witness said that the minimal loss recorded was due to the swift response from the state firefighters to curtail the fire outbreak.

“There were about three firefighting vehicles deployed to the scene, and there was no casualty. The apartment is toward the East Gate going toward ABH in a quadrangle, some documents were lost, but there was no loss of life,” the source said.

However, the UCH spokeswoman Funmi Adetuyibi could not be reached for comments on the incident as her lines had been switched off.

Four Nigerian siblings killed as fire razes building in Korea

Four Nigerian siblings, aged between 6 and 11, were killed in a fire that gutted a three-storey residential building in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, south of Seoul, in Korea.

According to the Gyeonggi Disaster and Safety Headquarters, the fire broke out in a multifamily residence in Danwon District, Ansan, at around 3:28 a.m. Monday, March 27, 2023.

The fire was put out in about 40 minutes at 4:16 a.m., but the family’s two-room house, about 13 pyeong (463 square feet) in area, was entirely burnt, authorities said.

Four out of five siblings from a Nigerian family were found dead in a room. The victims included two girls aged 11 and two boys aged six and seven. Only the youngest sibling made it out alive with the parents.

All seven family members were home when the fire broke out, but the parents managed to take their two-year-old daughter with them as they escaped through a window.

The father was reportedly sleeping in the living room, and the rest of the family members were in a bedroom when the fire broke out. The parents are currently being treated at a hospital.

According to police and fire authorities, the father saw the fire and notified his wife and five children sleeping in the bedroom together. He then started knocking on his neighbours’ doors barefooted and pouring water on the fire to extinguish it.

The father came to Korea in 2008 on a D-9 Technician visa and supported the family by collecting secondhand clothes and household goods to send to Nigeria. His wife came to Korea in 2012 and gave birth to all five children in Korea.

According to authorities, there were neither fire extinguishers nor fire alarms in the building.

“The building is very old, but many foreigners continue to live there because it’s cheap,” said a pastor at Ansan Multicultural Church, which helps foreigners adjust to the area.

Officials from the local government and the Embassy of Nigeria in Korea promised to support the family on Monday. Another 37 residents of the building, mostly foreigners, were evacuated.

Six people, including three Nigerians, two Uzbekistans and one Russian, sustained minor injuries, including smoke inhalation. Police and fire authorities suspect the fire started from a power outlet in the living room wall but have requested further investigation by the National Forensic Service to figure out the exact cause.

“We are investigating the case remaining open to all possible causes, and an autopsy of the dead bodies will be done as well,” said a police officer.

Fires razes multiple shops in Ibadan spare parts market

Properties worth millions of Naira have been destroyed as fire gutted the Araromi spare parts market in Ibadan, Oyo State. The fire broke out in the early hours of Saturday, January 14.

About 45 shops were affected by the fire incident at the spare parts market, which is one of the major markets in Ibadan.

The fire started at about 2:00am and the state fire service succeeded in quenching it around 5 a.m. General Manager of the Oyo State Fire Service, Rev. Canon Yemi Akinyinka, blamed the fire on refuse burning.

He said:

“Our men are at Araromi Market Agodi Gate since 2:30 a.m. where they are putting off the fire caused by indiscriminate refuse burning.

“The fire was suppressed at 5:00 a.m. Cooling down operation is ongoing to suppress re-ignition. On my way for on the spot assessment.

“I cannot say specifically the number of shops now, you know it is an emergency. It started in the night. About 45 shops.”

Scene Of Fire Incident At Alekuwodo, Osogbo

A fire incident has been reported along Alekuwodo/Olaiya area of Osogbo on Thursday.

There are reports that multiple building have been affected by the fire but firefighters are on the scene.

Seven rescued after fire broke out at WAEC office in Lagos

Seven trapped workers have been rescued after a fire broke out in the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) national office in Yaba, Lagos state.

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) said on Wednesday, October 26, that the fire incident was caused by a power surge on the third floor of the building.

“Upon arrival at the aforementioned location, a section of the WAEC HQ multi-storey building was found to be on fire,” LASEMA said.

“Further investigations revealed that the fire started on the 3rd floor of the 12-storey building due to a power surge.

“A total of seven female staff of the Corporation were trapped on the 5th and 7th floors and were safely evacuated due to the swift response of the Rescue team on the ground. The fire has also been put off and dampening down concluded.

“The combined efforts of the Agency’s team alongside the Agency’s Paramedics, LASG FIRE, FED FIRE, UNILAG FIRE, LASAMBUS, and LASTMA are on the ground to ensure a swift recovery.”

Fire Breaks Out Near Lagos Collapsed Building

There was a fire incident close to the scene of a building that collapsed in the Lekki area of Lagos on Sunday.

Smoke was observed coming out of the storey building in the Oniru area.

The fire has been contained. Meanwhile, two bodies have been recovered from the rubble of the seven-storey building that collapsed early Sunday.

Fire destroys 15 shops in Lagos

No fewer than 15 shops have been destroyed by fire in the Mushin area of Lagos state.

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, in a statement posted on its Facebook page, stated that the incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday at Olanrewaju off Bangboye Street, Mushin.

Loss of lives and other properties were, however, averted by LASEMA officers deployed to the scene following an emergency call.

The statement read,

“ LASEMA, in fulfilling its mandate of managing emergency/disaster in the state, LASEMA has effectively and efficiently responded to various emergencies and salvaged situations that could result in a colossal loss of lives and properties on Sunday, 28th August 2022.

“At the wee hours of today (Sunday), the Agency deployed its Eagle Squad at Cappa Base, Oshodi, to Olanrewaju off Bangboye Street, Mushin, where a case of fire outbreak was reported via the State emergency toll-free line.

“As the Agency’s Response Team arrived at the scene of the incident, it was discovered that 15 (fifteen) kiosks were gutted by fire, but the timely response of the LASEMA Fire Team prevented the fire from spreading to adjoining buildings which could result in a huge loss. The inferno was combated and dampening down completed.”

Meanwhile, two were injured in an accident involving a commercial bus and mini truck with registration number KRD 174 XQ along the third mainland bridge.

LASEMA noted, “Further information gathered revealed that the bus, while on high speed, ran into the broken down truck which was in the middle of the road.

“Fortunately, there was no record of loss of lives. However, two adult males, the driver of the bus, and his conductor, sustained injuries as a result of the impact of the accident.

“The injured victims were administered first aid by the Agency’s Paramedics. Thereafter, the driver was taken to the Trauma Centre as a result of the head injury he sustained for further medical attention.

“The affected truck and the bus were recovered off the road with the aid of the Agency’s light-tow truck and a private tow truck while the road was restored for vehicular activities.”

Fire guts shops under Apongbon bridge in Lagos

There was confusion in Lagos on Wednesday as fire gutted shops under the Apongbon section of the Eko Bridge.

The fire incident affected commercial activities around the Lagos Island area of the state.

It was gathered that goods worth millions of naira were destroyed by the inferno.

In a tweet by the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency, it was reported that “traffic from Eko bridge has been re-routed to Ebute-Ero to link inner marina. Men of fire service and other security agencies are still on the ground. Therefore, CMS bridge and Eko bridge inward/outward Apongbon is close to traffic at the moment”.

Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Adeseye Margaret, in a statement on Wednesday, said: “The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service is currently battling go an inferno at Eko bridge Apongbon, Lagos island.

The fire which was reported at 03:14 Wednesday wee hours to under the Eko bridge at Apongbon, where various stocks in trade are plied was met well alight by the first set of the crew of the agency on arrival.

“The intensity of the fire has badly affected the Eko bridge truncating movement along that corridor..

“The nature of the fire is disastrous as all Emergency responders are on top of the situation.

“There has been no reported case of injury or death while Fire fighting operations are still ongoing. Update to follow.”

It was still unclear what caused the fire as at the time of this report.

New York apartment fire leaves 19 people, including 9 children, dead

A massive fire that engulfed a residential apartment building in the Bronx in New York City on Sunday, left 19 people, including 9 children, dead, according to the city’s Mayor, Eric Adams.

He described the incident as “one of the worst fires the city had experienced in modern times.

“This is a horrific, horrific, painful moment for the city of New York, and the impact of this fire is going to really bring a level of just pain and despair in our city,” Adams said.

“This is going to be one of the worst fires that we have witnessed during modern times here in the city of New York,” Adams said.

“I am horrified by the devastating fire in the Bronx today,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Twitter. “My heart is with the loved ones of all those we’ve tragically lost, all of those impacted and with our heroic FDNY firefighters. The entire State of New York stands with New York City,” he added.

The blaze also injured 63 people, with 32 hospitalised with life-threatening conditions, according to Daniel Nigro, the New York City Fire Department Commissioner.

In a press conference shortly after the fire, Nigro attributed the inferno to a “malfunctioning electric space heater”.

He said the heater was in the bedroom of an apartment, and the fire consumed the room, before engulfing the entire apartment.

“The apartment door was left open and smoke spread throughout the building when the residents left their unit,” Nigro said.

“Victims were found in stairways on every floor of the building, many in cardiac arrest. This could be an unprecedented loss of life. The injuries were predominantly from smoke inhalation.

“Firefighters kept attempting to save people from the building despite running out of air tank. Some of the residents who were trying to leave the building could not escape because of the volume of smoke.”

The residential apartment where the fire occurred is 50 years old and has 120 units, and housed a largely Muslim population, with many immigrants from West African country, the Gambia.

Tragedy as fire guts section of popular Balogun Market, Lagos

Traders at the Popular Balogun market, Lagos Island have been met with tragedy just few days to Christmas as fire razed down shops and goods worth millions of naira early Thursday morning.

Some owners of the affected shops were seen heartbroken seeing their shops and goods burnt to ashes thereby dashing their hopes of the festive season sales.

The outbreak which now seems like a yearly occurrence was reported to have razed down the market in November 2019 and January 2020 making this the third time in a row.

The cause of the fire outbreak is yet to be ascertained as at the time of filing this report.

Fire razes shopping complex in Computer Village, Lagos

An inferno that happened in the early hours of Monday morning has razed a shopping complex in the Computer Village part of Ikeja, in Lagos State.

Although nobody was reported dead, the inferno destroyed goods and valuables worth millions of naira at the complex located at no 18, Otigba Street.

Ripples Nigeria learnt that men of the fire service who arrived promptly at the scene of the fire outbreak prevented the inferno from consuming other buildings

As of the time of filing this report, the cause of the fire outbreak was yet unknown.

Confirming the incident, the spokesperson of the Lagos State Police Command, CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu said policemen were drafted to the scene to protect the Firefighters and others.

“The fire has been put out successfully. No life was lost in the incident. However, a valuable property that estimates are not yet known was destroyed. The cause of the fire outbreak is not yet known. An investigation is ongoing,” he said.

Fire razes Yola specialist hospital store

Fire on Sunday razed the Yola Specialist Hospital Store in Adamawa.

The hospital’s Chief Medical Director, Mr. Dauda Wadinga, who confirmed the incident to journalists in Yola, said the cause of the fire has not been ascertained.

He said the fire started from the central store and destroyed 350 beds, mattresses and other equipment.

The CMD said: “The cause of the fire is still unknown. The hospital management will investigate the cause of the fire.

“The incident occurred at about 12:00 p.m. No life was lost but properties worth millions of naira were destroyed.”

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