Six-Month-Old Baby Rescued as Fire Tears Through Oyo Home
Fire Safety Awareness to Save Children in the Home: A 6-month infant was saved alive when a fire engulfed some parts of a residential building in Ogbomoso North Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria.
The fire happened at Olomi Compound in an unattended gas leak, which reportedly set fire to the bottom floor of a one-storey building with three rooms in it on a Saturday night.
The Oyo State Fire Service said it received a call for help and responded quickly to save the lives of all residents as it managed to extinguish the blaze before it reached the upper story and adjacent properties. The baby was rescued by the rescue team without suffering any injuries.
The fire was caused by an unattended gas leak, which is a preventable hazard that could endanger children’s safety and put them in danger of injury or death, the agency said. After the rescue, firefighters conducted fire prevention training for the public, such as safe use, installation and maintenance of cooking gas cylinders and appliances.
Child protection professionals point out that babies and young children are particularly at risk in the event of a home crisis as they are unable to protect themselves and rely fully on adults to keep them safe.
The Oyo State Fire Service advised members of the public to take simple precautions with gas appliances like conducting regular inspections and exercising caution while using the gas, as well as placing fire extinguishers, to reduce the risk of fire and avoidable harm to children.
