The office of the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) in Yaba, Lagos, was on Wednesday morning gutted by fire.
Though, the fire was immediately put out by fire service officials, it created tension as staff rushed out of the building to avoid being trapped.
The Public Relations Officer of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the South-West Region, Ibrahim Farinloye, told our correspondent on the phone that it was a minor fire outbreak and that the fire had since been put out.
It was learnt the officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) were also deployed to the scene.
A spokesperson for the Lagos State Fire Service, Mr Shakiru Ahmadu, said seven persons were rescued from the building.
In a situation report about the incident, LASEMA Permanent Secretary, Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said the fire started from the third floor of the building.
He said, “Upon arrival at the aforementioned location, a section of the WAEC HQ multi-storey building was found to be on fire. Further investigations revealed that the fire started on the 3rd floor of the 12-storey building due to power surge.
“A total of seven female staff members of the Corporation were trapped on the 5th and 7th floors and were safely evacuated due to the swift response of ththrescue team on the ground. The fire has also been put out and dampening down concluded.”
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