A stove fire has burnt two siblings, three-year-old Emmanuel Samson and his two months old sister, Rosemary Samson to death in their parents one-room apartment in Sosanya Street, Ifako, Gbagada, Lagos State.

Their father, Otunimi Samson, reportely had not returned from work at the time of the incident, while their mother, Mercy Samson, was said to have gone to buy sugar at a shop on the street.

Mercy reportedly locked up the children inside the room, in a makeshift plank structure attached to a building.

After buying the sugar, went to another shop to visit a friend for about 30 minutes. It was gathered that she was at the shop when neighbours rushed to call her that the apartment was on fire.

Officials of the Lagos State Fire Service from the Ilupeju Fire Station joined the residents in putting out the fire.

The Director, Lagos State Fire Service, Mr. Rasaq Fadipe, said a preliminary investigation indicated that the bed, on which the baby was laid, caught fire from a burning stove in the apartment.

He said, “It was suspected that the mother was cooking in the house. The stove was close to the bed which was consumed by the fire. When a foam mattress goes up in flames, it is very injurious to health. The fumes it produces are very toxic. That could have led to inhalation of toxic fumes by the children.

“People should stop cooking in living rooms. It is very dangerous. Even when you cook in a kitchen, make sure flammable materials are not close to the naked light. When you are cooking, you don’t leave it unattended to. The mother of the deceased was not at home when the apartment was gutted by fire.”