WAEC Gives Full Detail Of Fire Out Break

Only the second and third floors of the West African Examinations Council’s (WAEC) Yaba building sustained significant damage during Wednesday’s morning fire, according to Mr. Patrick Areghan, Head, National Office (HNO), WAEC.

On Wednesday in Lagos, Areghan informed newsmen of this.

He also described how he received a call alerting him to the situation and sped to the area.

Areghan remarked that most of the personnel were getting ready to leave for the day’s work, just like any other day.

“This morning I got a call that a part of WAEC office Yaba building was on fire . I quickly dashed down to the office and by the time I got there, the fire service people were there.

“Both the State and Federal levels and even the emergency safety people were all there. And I must say kudos to them.

“For WAEC too, we have sophisticated state-of-the-art firefighting equipment and they were able to deploy all that was needed to put out the fire in record time.

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“To the glory of God, nobody was injured, no life affected and no substantial damage done to the building.

“You know it is a building of 12 floors and the fire started from the second floor, and it is only second and third floors that recorded some minimal damage,” he said.

Areghan remarked that due to the billowing smoke, it would be challenging to obtain a clearance in the blink of an eye with a structure of that size.

“That was why you saw smoke spreading to other parts of the building. The entire WAEC building was not on fire,’’ he said.

The cause of the fire, according to the HNO, has not yet been determined, but he is expecting a technical report from the fire service team.

He assured them that the fire had no impact on the certificates and other documents under their care.

Areghan assured them that they didn’t need to fear because the council had the means to safeguard crucial records that could have terrified important stakeholders and the public at large.

He claims that the fire did not spread to the floor where the records are kept, and he continues by saying that even if it had, the council’s ability to act quickly would have prevented any problems.

“Nothing has gone wrong in any way. It is not easy to destroy WAEC documents under our custody.

“I am assuring the general public and my entire staff that all is well.

“There is actually nothing to worry about. There are other ways to protect our documents. So, everything is intact.

“We have put out a statement out there before now, assuring the general public of the safety of all our essential documents.

They are intact and that remains the truth of the matter,” he said.

Areghan advised anyone who was still unsure about the availability and security of their certificates to request clarification the next day to determine whether the council would be able to provide it or not.

He claimed that the situation on the property was now peaceful and under control.

“If not that we just want to clear the smoke and the water used in putting out the fire, we would have been in our offices working now.

“We just need a little time to clear that so that people can settle down and get back to work.”