How mystery fire claimed three siblings in Christmas week

The deceased, two females named Emmanuella, four; Mary, three; and a male, one, were burnt to death while sleeping in their room. The two eldest were pupils in a nursery school.   Witnesses, who said they could not determine the source of the inferno which began at about 10 pm, explained that in addition to […]

The deceased, two females named Emmanuella, four; Mary, three; and a male, one, were burnt to death while sleeping in their room. The two eldest were pupils in a nursery school.

 

Witnesses, who said they could not determine the source of the inferno which began at about 10 pm, explained that in addition to the deceased being badly burnt, a neighbouring flat was also destroyed.

The remains of the dead were said to have been buried immediately without further medical examination because of the degree of burns and the their tender ages.

A visibly devastated mother of the children, Mrs Grace Linus Arumona, said she cannot explain the source of the deadly fire but that she kept a lighted kerosene lamp on top of the television between 7 pm and the time of the incident while she was selling in her shop in front of the house. Televisions are heat radiators.

The bereaved mother, who is a Catholic, says she has decided to bear her fate like the Biblical Job by trusting in God. However, she is pleading for a job for her husband who is still unemployed.

Jacob Olajuba, whose flat was affected, said while he was sitted in the veranda, he percieved smoke from the direction of the Arumonas, and quickly made to determine what was happening when suddenly shouts of help began coming from the house.

“I lost everything in that flat not even a pair of slippers was spared. Only God knows why this has happened”, he said.

For Mr Arumona, a native of Obadibo Area of Benue State who has remained unemployed since his contract work with the United Nations expired in 2008, living with the pain of losing three children in one day could be too much to bear.

He said he strolled out of the shop in front of the house which he jointly runs with his wife when he began hearing shouts of alarm. But by the time he got to the scene, nothing could be salvaged including his beloved children because the flame was ferocious and choking.

“I can’t explain the fire; I didn’t keep any petroleum product in the house. And though there was no power supply, I couldn’t power my generator because it was not working”, he said.

While responding to complaints about the slow response by the Police and the Fire Service on the fateful day, the Divisional Police Officer Ibrahim Mshezia, A Chief Superintendent of Police, explained that the Police responded promptly by inviting the Fire Service to put out the fire before entering the house. He attributed the tragedy to clustered building patterns and storage of petroleum products in the house.