Tragedy struck at the largest Sawmill in West Africa, situated at Ebute Meta, Lagos, and about 70 rooms built within the area were burnt down on Tuesday evening.The fire outbreak, which started around 8:40pm, damaged properties worth millions of naira and almost took the life of a five- year-old baby.PUNCH METRO gathered that a baby, whose name was not revealed, was sleeping in a room when the fire started, but was rescued by a neighbour before much damage could be done.An eyewitness, who identified himself simply as Moses, said the cause of the fire remained a mystery to everyone, but felt it could have been caused by a burning candle that was left in one of the rooms.The fire started from the room of a woman in the evening. We just saw that the fire blazed, but it could have been caused by the womans carelessness with the candle, he said.One of the victims, who identified herself as Bisi, said all she had laboured for had been lost to the incident.I have nothing to live on again, all my property have been burnt including my jewellery and other things that were in the room, Bisi said amidst tears.The leader of the Lagos Mainland Local Government legislative house, Mr. Maruf Akinlolu, who represented the LG chairman, Mr. Oladele Adekanye, said the government was concerned about the incident.They are low income earners and the local government will help them, he said.He also warned the people to be wary of the dry season when fire could easily spread, adding that the state government was planning to build an affordable low cost housing estate in the area.AbdulRahmon Alausa, a furniture maker, who was also affected by the fire, admitted that although the area was not habitable, most residents live there because they could not afford the high rents in more decent areas.He said, I am not actually comfortable with this place, but there is nothing I can do as there is no cash to relocate.All the furniture I made was burnt. Government should not build houses in the area. Most of the people who live here are low income earners and am afraid that they will not be able to afford it.Another victim, Lana Latile, who said nobody was sure how the fire started, estimated the loss to be millions of naira.He advised the government to provide free fire extinguishers for the people so that they could put out fire incidents before they got out of hand.Councillor Ward G, Mr. Isiaka Aremu, said the fire could have been worse if not for the timely intervention of the firefighters and police officers who came around the scene.He said, This kind of thing is not just happening. It happened in the past and it is usually caused by candle light. This shows the level of poverty in the area.A police officer, who craved anonymity, said the people who live in the area are negligent, which is why they live in such a dangerous place.
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