95-yr-old woman burnt to death in Osun inferno

A 95-year-old woman, Omolayo Kolade, was burnt to death when her residence in the Alapata area of Modakeke, Osun State was razed on Saturday.

According to reports, two other residents of the building escaped.

Confirming the incidence, the Administrative Officer, Osun State Fire Service, Fatai Aremu, said that the one-storey building, where the deceased lived, was completely burnt by the fire, which was said to have started from Kolade’s room.

He further explained that the inferno resulted from a lantern that the deceased kept in her room, which spilled the kerosene and soaked the mattress.

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The room, Aremu said, caught fire while the deceased attempted to lit the lantern and the fire spread to the entire building.

He said: “The only victim of the incident was Omolayo Kolade, a 95-year-old woman. “But two other occupants of the building escaped unhurt.

“The estimated loss to the incident is put at around N10m, while properties saved by the joint effort of the Osun State Fire Service personnel and the OAU Fire Unit were worth N30m.

“From available information, the fire started from the old woman’s room through the spillage of adulterated kerosene from a lantern, which caught fire and set the entire house ablaze”, he said.

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