Mrs Ibitayo Adenike, Head of Operations, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) of the Lagos Territorial Office has opened up on how the fire that engulfed Christ Embassy Church, Ikeja in Lagos State, was put out.
NaijaOnPoint.com.ng (NOP) reports Mrs Adenike to have said it took a combined team of emergency responders to put out the fire that engulfed the Christ Embassy church on Sunday morning.
Fire had on Sunday engulfed the main auditorium of Christ Embassy Church Headquarters located in Oregun, Ikeja.
The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service (LSFRS) had said the fire escalated because the church’s fire service thought they could handle the situation by themselves without recourse to the Lagos fire service.
Giving an update on the fire incident, Adenike disclosed that NEMA received an alert about the fire at the main auditorium of the Christ Embassy Church on Oregun Road in the early hours of Sunday.
“The immediate cause of the fire which started around 7.00 a.m. was not known but it spread quickly causing the roof of the auditorium to cave in.
“The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service (LSFRS) and other emergency responders fought the inferno and was eventually able to put it out late in the afternoon,” Adenike said.
She added that an integrity test would be carried out on the structure before further actions can be taken.
Adenike noted that emergency responders at the scene of the incident included the Lagos Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), NEMA, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, LSFRS, the Police and the Red Cross.
Earlier, the Director of the LSFRS, Mrs Margret Adeseye, had called for calm as the situation was under control.
Adeseye said excavators were deployed during the operation to pull down some parts of the building to ensure complete extinguishment of the fire and to prevent further structural collapse.
The director said the cause of the incident was yet unknown adding that investigations are underway to determine the cause.
She said that no casualties were recorded.
Also, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, the Permanent Secretary, LASEMA, said that the massive fire had been brought under control.
“Dampening down is ongoing, with monitored property salvage. The operation involved all key stakeholders. The building will be subject to materials testing.
“There were no casualties or mortality despite any reports to the contrary,” Oke-Osanyintolu said.
Fire incident avenue for bigger and better things- Pastor Chris Oyakhilome
Meanwhile, President and founder of LoveWorld Incorporated better known as Christ Embassy, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome has said the fire incident at the church’s headquarters was not an accident but an avenue for bigger and better things.
He said this during a live Sunday service at the church’s campground, Asese.
“Nothing happens in the life of a child of God by accident. During the 2001 Ikeja cantonment bombing incident, the building vibrated so much and we thought it was going to collapse.
“I thought to myself that if it collapsed I was going to build a bigger, better one. At the end of the day it didn’t collapse and we called the engineers to see if there was any need to bring it down and rebuild but it was still okay.
“Now that this has happened, we will build a bigger, better, and more glorious one and the devil will lick his wound,” Pastor Chris said.