At about 2:30pm yesterday afternoon, a portion of the Education Library was gutted down by fire. The immediate cause of the fire is unknown, but it might not be unconnected with the electrical installation work in the library at the time. The fire occurred in a locked room, which according to the librarians was an archive for newspapers and clippings, dating as far back as the 1950’s. Among the newspapers burnt were copies of The Morning Post, edited by the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the first President of Nigeria. All windows and doors leading to the locked room had to be broken down by the combined efforts of students and the few librarians present before the fire was brought under control. The students, who saw smoke rising from the top floor of the library, directly over the education cybercafé on the ground floor, alerted students reading in the library. The students who stayed behind in the building, fighting the flames must be commended for their bravery. The University of Lagos fire brigade arrived at the scene of the fire, some thirty minutes after the cry of fire was first heard, with two fire engines. Thank God they had water! Some members of staff of the university, including the Dean of the School of Post Graduate Studies, Professor Olatunji, came immediately to the scene and made attempts to investigate the source of the fire. The fire service was slow in its response. This is the second time a fire incident is occurring in recent months. During the first incident, the fire service was practically unavailable. These two incidents underscore the importance of having an efficient mobile fire service. The cost of the damage is still being assessed. Hopefully, the lessons from this incident will go a long way to make the fire service more efficient.  

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