A serious fire outbreak rocked the main auditorium of the Christ Embassy Church building located on Billings Way in the Oregun area of Ikeja, Lagos State, on the morning of Sunday, June 23, 2024.
The incident was revealed in multiple videos from the scene circulated on the social media platform, X.
The branch, named Christ Embassy Lagos Virtual Zone CELVZ and pastored by Yemisi Kudehinbu, just won the best church award of the year at the ongoing 2023/2024 International Cell Leaders’ Conference (ICLC) 2024.
Smokes can be seen billowing from the top of the sprawling white-painted edifice as residents watched on in panic.
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In some of the clips, a truck belonging to the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service stood by the side of the building with a fireman trying frantically to quench the inferno.
However, his solitary effort turned futile as the water gushing out from his fighting instrument could barely reach the fire spot.
A member of the Church who spoke to this reporter on the condition of anonymity said the fire started early in the morning as congregants were beginning to arrive for service.
The source said they had initially thought it was something they could handle but later called the Alausa Fire Service station for assistance after it became serious.
“It started in the early hours of the morning. They thought it was gonna be something they could handle until it became so serious that the Alausa fire service guys had to come to quench it,” the member said.
However, the anonymous source couldn’t ascertain the cause of the fire incident but they suspected that it started from the pastor’s entrance which is close to the choir stand.
Following the incident, congregants were moved to the Cornerstone Auditorium within the same church premises where they live-streamed the ICLC with Pastor Chris Oyakhilome from the Asese campground in Ogun State.
The church has yet to make any official statement regarding the incident as of the time of filing this report.
