The Parish Pastor of the Christ Apotolic Church in Otumara in Warri Delta state, Pastor J.O. Kayoda, yesterday September 25th lost his wife and four children, two boys and two girls, in a fire outbreak at their home. According to reports, all five family members were burnt beyond recognition after an electric fault in the area caused a fire outbreak in the missionary building of the church where the pastor and his wife stayed. The Pastor was said to be away in Osun state to attend a Pastoral conference when the fire killed his entire family.
According to a neighbor, the fire started at about 11pm and rescue operation to save the woman and her children was very difficult due to the iron protectors the house had.
“Last night at about 11pm, some men in the area were going around, it was like they noticed there was a problem with the light. They were like trying to trace where the fault could have come from. In the long run, they came like three times and since they couldn’t get where the fault was coming from, they left. Atmidnight, I heard the woman screaming for help so we came out. When I got there, I saw the pastor’s last daughter standing very close to the windows, banging on it. There was no way I could help her. I tried scooping water to put out the fire but it raged on. Later on, I saw the pastor’s wife, struggling with the door, she was shouting for help while trying to open it. The three other children were not seen struggling at all. It was like they died of smoke inhalation because we found them right where they were sleeping. The windows and the doors were all guarded with protectors, it was difficult to go through, if not we would have broken through to rescue them.” Bright December, a neighbor said
Spekiang on the incident, the church secretary, Emmanuel Ogoigbe said the bodies of the deceased have been deposited at the mortuary
“We have not been able to ascertain the cause of the fire, the people who would have been able to tell us are no more; that’s the wife and the four children–two boys and two girls. The pastors had gone for a conference in Ikeji-Arakeji in Osun State, so they quickly alerted our zonal chairman, Pastor Orode. They are on their way, they should soon be in Warri. This is a tragedy, the kind we have never seen before. Our pain is that if the wife and the children had survived, we wouldn’t have bothered even if the building was burnt, at least the church would have still been able to raise money to rebuild.” he said
Culled: The Nation
