Following the fire that broke out in a hostel in the College of Medicine, University of Lagos last week, some of students said they suffered heavy loses.
PUNCH Metro learnt that two rooms – 237 and 238 – in the Block II Hostel were engulfed by the fire, whose cause had yet to be known.
It was learnt that the fire started around 12.30pm on Monday when most students had gone to attend classes.
Our correspondent gathered that it took the intervention of some students in the neighbouring rooms to put out the flame before operatives of the state fire service surfaced.
During a visit to the hostel,PUNCH Metro observed that one of the rooms was locked while the other room was full of remnants of burnt clothes, trolley and books.
Two of the victims who spoke with our correspondent said they lost items ranging from certificates, textbooks and clothes to money and laboratory items.
One of them, Abdullahi Abdulrasaq, said “My primary and secondary school certificates, clothes, textbooks and a sum of N4,000 were burnt.
I was receiving a lecture when the incident happened.”
Another victim, Femi Raphael, said if not for his friends, all his documents would have been completely razed.
He said, “My friends who were around helped me to recover my bag where my clothes and other documents were packed.
My certificates were almost burnt; all my clothes and books in the room also got spoilt.”
A student, who pleaded anonymity, said the fire was caused by an electric surge.
“It was the poor state of electric connections in some rooms that sparked off the fire. Some students do the wiring themselves, while some seek the service of electricians who will not use quality materials,” he said.
The College Secretary, Mr. Azeez Oladejo, said a committee had been constituted to investigate the cause of the fire, adding that the affected students had been relocated to other rooms in the hostel.
“ Two rooms were affected, but the occupants have been moved to stay with their colleagues for the time being. The report of the committee will be out in two weeks’ time. Meanwhile, we thank God that no life was lost,” he said.
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