Tragedy struck in a family near the Benin-Sapele Road on New Year eve following the death of an eight-month-old baby in a midnight inferno which gutted their residence.
The incident was said to have occurred at about 12am when most of the residents had gone to church for the crossover service.
Although some of the occupants of the building could not tell the cause of the fire, an eyewitness who owns a shop in the affected building at Ewemade Street, off Benin-Sapele Road said that the fire spread rapidly and also destroyed property worth millions of naira.
“It happened around 12am yesterday (Wednesday night), after everyone had gone to church. Few minutes after power was restored, we were about to leave the shop when we heard people shouting, ‘Fire! Fire!’
“Before we knew it, it spread to other parts of the building, as if kerosene was added to it,” the eyewitness said.
It was, however, gathered that fire officers were prevented from going into the building by the angry residents who blamed them for delayed response.
An unconfirmed source also disclosed that the body of the baby who was found dead, had been deposited at a mortuary.
When contacted, an official of the Edo State Fire Service who identified himself as Mr Anthony Osadolor, said that the fire service did not receive any call from the residents but got a different place.
He also attributed the delay to inadequate fire trucks to cater for areas within the state capital.
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