20 rooms we’re destroyed yesterday in an early morning inferno at the female hostel of Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, leaving several students displaced with properties that included certificates, phones, laptops, clothes and food items destroyed.
Following the incident, the Rector, Dr. Margaret Ladipo, announced suspension of academic activities, while the school authorities attends to the emergency.
Three students were said to have sustained injuries. According to sources, the injured students were rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Yaba, and the General Hospital, Randle Avenue, Surulere.
One of the students said she ran out naked, when the fire started, and watched as all her credentials went up in smoke.
It was gathered that fire started at a wing of the top floor of the Bakassi Block at about 5.20a.m., when the school generator was switched on after an electricity power cut.
Dr. Ismail Badmus, the Head of Department of the school’s Fire Service, said no life was lost, but that some students were injured and taken to government hospitals for treatment.
According to him, “the incident happened at Bakassi hostel, which is a two-wing two-storey building. The fire started at the top floor of one of the wings. We lost a lot of students’ items like laptops, phones, books and mattresses. Being residential hostel, many combustibles were there, which readily caught fire.”
He said that the fire was tackled by the college’s fire service department; National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA; Lagos State Emergency Management Agency; Lagos State Fire Service and the State Response Unit.
Lamenting her loss, a National Diploma, ND, 1 student said she lost all her credentials, including her Nursery School reports details to the inferno.
The ND 1 student, who was being consoled by her friends, added that she virtually ran out naked and did not take anything out from her room, when the fire started.
Many other students, who spoke on conditions of anonymity, blamed the incident on overpopulation, porters who collect gratifications to allow gas cookers and other combustibles into the hostels and lack of emergency response equipment.
The Sole Administrator, Yaba Local Council Development Area, LCDA, Bayo Adefuye, who was at the scene of the incident, expressed delight that no life was lost.
He called on the school management to address the power and security issues in the school as a matter of urgency.
Meanwhile, the school authorities have urged parents and guardians not to panic over the fate of their wards as the school was on top of the situation.
The Rector of the college, Dr. Margaret Ladipo, called on the college community to remain calm, promising that the management would find ways of soothing the pains caused by the accident.
In a statement by Mr. Charles Oni, Head of Public Relations Unit, Ladipo said: “Sequel to the unfortunate fire incident at the Bakassi hostel early this morning (yesterday), the management has suspended all academic activities till further notice.
“By this notice, all examinations and lectures, especially scheduled for today, have been put on hold while the college attends to the exigency.
“The management regrets the misguided and outright falsehood on the social media and calls to certain radio stations that there was no water on campus to put out the fire.”
Aftermath of fire incident: Authority shuts YABATECH till further notice
