Five-year-old girl dle in Abuja estate fire outbreak

A fire outbreak in a one-storey building at the EFAB Metropolis Estate in the Karasana area of the Federal Capital Territory claimed the life of a five-year-old girl and destroyed properties worth millions of naira. 

The occurred around 1 a.m. on Thursday, January 16, 2025, at No. 16 Ottawa Street.

According to eyewitness accounts, the fire was caused by an electrical spark in one of the children’s room sockets.

One of the estate residents said that the family members were downstairs when the fire began in the children’s room upstairs.

“The fire broke out while we were asleep. A five-year-old girl, who was upstairs in her room, tragically lost her life. The family was downstairs at the time. As big as this estate is, there is no fire station. The developer built over 1,000 houses here but didn’t provide such a critical facility,” the witness narrated. 

Another resident criticised the absence of firefighting infrastructure within the estate.

“Although the fire service personnel arrived promptly, they had to navigate through Kubwa before accessing the estate. If we had a fire station here, the damage could have been minimised. Originally, locations were designated for a hospital, recreation centre, and fire station, but these were sold off. A fire station is an urgent necessity to prevent future tragedies.”

The Chairman of the House Owners’ Association, Afeez Olopade, expressed grief over the incident and pledged support to the bereaved family.

Olopade admitted that the estate ought to have its firefighting equipment and infrastructure, adding that the executive members of the estate would engage the developer, Dr Fabian Nwaorah, on the need to have the facilities.