Originally Posted by Tiron

This incident was very close to home for me. As my heart goes out to the dead and all those affected, I thank God on my knees that my family were lucky, through the Grace of God, to escape this awful awful tragedy.
I can't even begin to detail how close to home this was for me. Two very key members of my family escaped the inferno. I thank God for their lives and I thank God that their house remains one of the only two buildings not completely destroyed by the fire.

You would think a comprehensive risk assessment would be conducted by the local government and the contractors BEFORE commencing such a high risk job, in such a densely populated area for that matter. But no, not in Nigeria.

Now, so many lives are lost and some of those whose homes have been destroyed by the fire are left stranded and left to rely on families and friends for emergency shelter.

As the fire was raging, thieves took over. In fact, they had started to cart away some of my family's belongings on the pretense of 'helping', when one of the people we rented one of our shops to alerted policemen standing nearby.

Apparently, this is the norm in Naija. Thieves normally get to a scene of fire before the fire-brigade. I was told that sometimes, the thieves even throw stones at firemen or cause disruption of any type to deter and delay the fire service from putting out fires. The thieves apparently cause so much ruckus so they can have ample time and opportunity to steal from the burning houses.

May the dead rest in peace and may God comfort all those affected.