A devastating fire outbreak at a residential building on Bola Street, Oyingbo area of Lagos State, has left a family and community in mourning, claiming the life of a 103-year-old woman and destroying numerous household belongings.
The tragedy occurred around noon on Friday, January 16, 2026, following a distress call received by the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) at about 12 pm.
The Permanent Secretary of the agency, Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, confirmed the incident in an official statement.
According to him, emergency responders were immediately mobilised to the scene, where they discovered that a bungalow with two shops attached had been completely engulfed in flames.
Oke-Osanyintolu explained that the agency’s Lagos Response Team (LRT) arrived at the location at approximately 12:13pm and promptly activated standard emergency management procedures. However, a preliminary assessment revealed that the centenarian woman, whose identity was withheld, had already died in the inferno.
He said, “The fire reportedly started in one of the rooms before spreading rapidly to other parts of the building,” adding that the cause of the outbreak had not yet been determined as of the time of filing the report.
He further disclosed that the inferno affected eight rooms, a mini flat, and six shops, while several household properties were either damaged or completely destroyed, stressing, “The recovered body has since been handed over to the family for necessary action. The fire has been fully extinguished,” the permanent secretary stated.
