Doctor loses life, two daughters to Lagos inferno

Etim Effiong

A clinical doctor, Ijeoma Idaresit and her two daughters have died in a fire at their home in Parkview, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Their house was said to have been engulfed in fire following a electrical fault on December 13.

Idaresit was the conference director at Postpartum Support Network Africa.

Olatoun Gabi-Williams, friend of the deceased, in a tribute posted on Facebook, alleged that the Lagos State Fire Service arrived late.

She wrote, “On Saturday, December 12, 2020, we lost a dearly loved one, Ijeoma Idaresit née Ejekam, our African Book Group librarian and cherished friend to all of us.

“The tragic death of Ijeoma, fondly known as Ije, occurred at her Park View residence when due to an electrical fault, a fire started, quickly consuming the entire building with Ije and her two beautiful daughters – a toddler and a baby – indoors, upstairs. The fire brigade showed up 20 minutes too late: by the time they managed to get upstairs to rescue the young family, it was too late.”

However, a spokesman for the Lagos State Fire Service Ahmodu Shakiru said the fire service could not be blamed for the incident.

He said: “That is the usual accusation, but the point is that we are not yet operating digital so, we rely on public information and time of response is a factor of many things from who discovered the emergency and what action was taken and what time the alarm is raised.”

“Becoming a doctor has been a childhood dream come true. The prospect of making a difference in people’s lives has always given me a thrill. Call it a God complex, I call it my vocation,” Idaresit wrote in her LinkedIn profile.