- Now I am homeless, says distraught patriarch
Fire service officers in Ilorin, north central city capital of Kwara, Nigeria, after managing to quell an inferno that made over 20 people homeless including a revered community leader say that the fire was caused by micro electrical jam.
Mr Mohammed Bashir Kazeem, head of fire prevention, Fire Service, Kwara State command spoke to DDM late Monday night at 10 pm, after putting the fire under control.
According to him, such incident happen when gas leak collides with wave signals from cell phones.
Cooking gas and cell phones are common appliances in many homes in Nigeria.
The online portal earlier reported that the home of Alhaji Saka Imam, patriarch, and the Alangua, Wara, Ilorin, caught fire at about 5.30 pm on Monday.
Fire service battled the conflagration for over five house only managing to bring it under control at 9.45 pm
According to officer Kazeem, 15 out of 16 rooms including shops and home of Alhaji Imam were burnt down.
” We were in the office this evening when we received the call that there was fire outbreak along Airport Road, Egbejila area. Unfortunately the fire already engulfed the building.
“In the course of investigation, we learnt that they were charging phone while a cooking gas was there.
“So when power was restored, the explosion now happened.
“We at the fire service have said times without number that gas is more volatile than petrol.
“Where ever you are using gas, don’t use phones there.
“The phone has no wire but you get connection from all over the world.
“The phone works with waves.
“The gas itself is air, you can’t see it. So by the time the gas is coming out and phone cell wave is coming in, when they jam, it is called Micro electrical jam.
“This causes explosion . That is what caused the fire,” the officer explained.
He also says that this phenomenon is leading cause of fire incident in Kwara according to their report.
The distraught patriarch, Alhaji Imam, told the DDM that the incident was sudden and he is yet to come terms with the reality that he doesn’t have a home any more.
“But what I do but to submit to will of Allah,” he said.
Most of the affected people were in shock when the online paper sought to speak to them.
As learnt, others were rushed to the hospital after collapsing out of the sheer shock on account of the damage wrought on their property by the fire.
As early morning of Tuesday, prominent community leaders have begun reaching out to people and government for help to sustain the affected victims.
Mr Ridwan Opakunle, youth leader and President, Kwara Association of Professional Point of Sales Agent, KAPPSA and Information Technology Professional Association of Nigeria, ITPAN, described the situation as sad.
“Alhaji Imam is not just an Alangua, he is also a pillar of moral support for the community.
“He has always been there for the haves and have not in the community,” he said.
