7 Children Rescued From Lagos Orphanage Home Fire

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Seven children have been rescued from a domestic fire that occurred at an orphanage home in the Aguda area of Lagos State on Sunday afternoon.

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) said it swiftly arrived at the one-storey building housing some motherless babies after it received an emergency call through the toll-free number 112 at about 2.43 pm.

According to reports, the inferno started from an air conditioning unit in the house as a result of a power surge at the property precisely located at 7, Wole Madariola Street, off Enitan Kusimo Street, Aguda, Lagos.

A statement from the Office of the Permanent Secretary of LASEMA quoted the Director-General of the agency, Mr Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu, as saying, “A one-storey building housing an orphanage/motherless babies home was engulfed by fire which reportedly started from an air conditioning unit in the house as a result of power surge which was said to have quickly spread out.

“A total of seven boys with ages ranging between one and seven years were quickly evacuated from the Home and safely relocated to the compound opposite the Home.

“[The} management team of the home informed LRT of plans to relocate the children to the house of the owner of the home temporarily to ensure their welfare was sustained.

“The fire which had initially spread to the storage room of the home has been extinguished with dampening down concluded.

“Post Disaster Assessment revealed that the whole of the first floor was salvaged, while the fire was contained in the store room, and the rest of the ground floor was also salvaged.

“The children were formally handed over to the Deputy Director, Mr Balogun and Mrs Rasheedat Sadik, both of the Child Protection Unit of the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development, who then formally handed the seven children over to the Red Cross,” the statement.

The statement signed by LASEMA spokesman, Mr Nosa Okunbor, further said, “No injuries or casualties were recorded in the near-fatal incident, saying that the Operation was successfully concluded in record time.”