Over 24 Flats burn in Police Barracks Fire

In Lagos today, a Police barracks was engulfed in a fire that left one person injured and many homeless.
The Fire servicemen in Lagos was reported to be slow in responding to a distress call, leading to the destruction of over 24 flats in the inferno.

Some houses were burnt and some items charred in the inferno  included stoves, fridges, sewing machines and television sets.

“It took the fire service more than one hour before they responded to our distress call,”Inspector Mike, a resident of the Ijeh police barrack told AFP.

“By the time they came, the fire has reduced everything into a rubble. That’s why we drove the fire fighters away,” he said.

“You can see that all the 24 flats have been completely burnt. We could not salvage anything,” Martina Undie, another resident said.

The eyewitnesses report that a man who was sleeping at the time of the incident “got some serious burns on his body” and was in hospital.

Lagos is home to about 20 million people faced with an accommodation crisis that police personnel aren’t exempted from.

The state government, in response to the challenge, has established a low and medium income housing scheme that allows residents own their homes through a subsidized mortgage system.