‘Mystery’ fire at Awolowo Hall

For more than 30 minutes last Tuesday, students and fire fighters battled to save Room 107 in Block 7 of the Awolowo Hall at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State, from being razed by fire.
The incident, according to witnesses, occurred at 11pm when the occupants went to watch the World Cup match between Argentina and Netherlands in the Postgraduate Hall. Some students, who were around the building, noticed the fire and raised an alarm.
Their alarm attracted the attention of viewers in the Postgraduate Hall and porters, who called the institution’s fire service. Before the fire could be put out, most of the items in the room, including students’ credentials, had been burnt. Some parts of the wall also got cracked.
The cause of the fire could not be ascertained immediately but some of the hall’s occupants said it could have been caused by candle light. There has not been power supply to the Halls of Residence since the management ordered students to leave the campus, following their protest over fee hike.
An occupant of the room, who did not give his name, said: “I left the room around 8pm and came back after the match only to see that our properly had been burnt. I cannot estimate my loss until I settle down but I know that all my documents are in the room.”
He also denied that his roommates left a lit candle before they went to view the match.
One of the students, who saw the fire, described it as strange, saying: “The first thing I heard was the creaking sounds. I thought it was a disturbance by rats which have formed a colony in the hostel. Later, I realised that it was a fire when I saw thick smoke coming out of the room. That was when I raised the alarm and got people to salvage the situation.”
Some students said the fire became intense because the fire fighters did not respond immediately, saying the security personnel on duty brought only one fire extinguisher, which did nothing.
“None of the fire extinguishers we saw were working,” said a student, who simply identified himself as Segun.
The management on June 18 ordered students out of the campus and announced an that the institution has been closed indefinitely because of the protest.
Some students felt the decision was harsh, having paid for accommodation on campus. They stayed back. Some of them are not sure about the cause of the fire but students believe the management may have planned the incident to evict students from the hall.
A student, who gave his nickname as Choco Milo, said it was difficult to believe that “ordinary candle flame” or stove could cause such damage.
He said: “We are still investigating what really happened that night. An expert that assessed the magnitude of the damage to the wall of the room said it was beyond what candle or stove could cause. So what caused the fire?”
Speaking to our correspondent on telephone on Monday, the institution’s Public Relations Officers (PRO), Mr Abiodun Olanrewaju, dismissed the allegation as illogical and unreasonable, wondering why the management would destroy the school property. He said the management had begun an investigation into the incident.
He said: “We have ordered the students to vacate the hostels after their protest a few weeks ago. The good students have since left and gone back to their parents but those around are miscreants. So, it is illogical and unreasonable for anyone to attribute the cause of the fire to the management. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Bamitale Omole, is a responsible man, who is doing everything possible to protect lives and property on the campus.”
While the source of the inferno remains a puzzle for management and students to unravel, the question on the lips of many is: what caused the fire when there was no electricity supply to the building and students claimed they did not light any candle?

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