From:  Ali Abare, Gombe

A late night fire reportedly razed a house in Malam Inna area of Gombe city, killing a woman and her five children.

Daily Sun gathered that the victims, a housewife, her infant child and three step-children, were asleep when the incident occurred.

Also killed in the fire incident was the woman’s son from another father living with her.

Eyewitnesses said the inferno, was believed to have been started around 3:00am when electricity supply was restored to the area.

The witnesses added that the hapless family were trapped in the house, which has only one entrance with burglar proof windows. As such they could not escape and therefore died from degree of burns sustained from the fire.

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Our correspondent, who visited the area, on Thursday, reported that the men of the Gombe State Fire Service had to break the wall before they could get access into the house, as it was isolated with no close neighbours nearby.

It was gathered at the time of the incident, the husband of the deceased was not at home, he was said to have spent the night at the house of his first wife, which is located in a different part of the metropolis.

Public Relations Officer of the agency, Malam Haruna Wambai, later confirmed the incident.

He said by the time fire fighters overcome the fire and get access to the house, they found all the six occupants of the house dead.

Wambai added that they could not ascertain the cause of the fire, because there was no survivor from the incident to narrate to them how the fire started.

The deceased have since been buried according to Islamic rites.