IT was the grace of God and the indomitable spirit of the male students on campus, who defied the restriction area at that critical period, to rescue the ladies from the early hour fire outbreak that razed parts of Ramat Hall, a female hostel at Bayero University Kano  (BUK) on Wednesday.

The fire, which caused pandemonium among the female students, destroyed more than six apartments in new site campus, including a laundry.

Though some of the ladies who were still asleep when the room went up in flames narrowly escaped what would have been a calamity in the New Year,  property and other valuables not yet evaluated, were completely burnt.

A witness, Aysah Danlaman told The Guardian that the fire began at about 7.15a.m. at Ramat ‘A’ Room 115, when some students preparing for early morning lectures noticed an electric spark,  which suddenly forced  them to scamper for safety.

“Our room is far from that particular apartment but we noticed that people were shouting “Fire! Fire! And everyone began to run into the rooms to pack bags. Then, I realized it was fire outbreak. Thank God, we got the assistance of the male students who came and rendered help. But the fire had already wreakedhavoc.”

Another female student, Habeeba Habeeb, who was IN the hostel during the incident, said the fire might have been caused by wrong electrical connections that run through the roof of the affected rooms.

“When I heard the shouts, I thought it is the usual gleeful scream of the boarders. It was not until we saw the guys trooping into the Ramat Hall that we realized “there was fire on the mountain,” she said.

Besides, a male student, who assisted the victims, told The Guardian that the fire was ignited by power surge.

“When we got to the hostel, the fire had already destroyed three rooms and was about to spread to the next room. We were able to prevent the fire from spreading,” Aminu Usman said.

Some students lamented that the late response of State Fire Service contributed to the losses and advised the university to own its independent fire service.

When contacted, the university spokesperson, Mustapha Zaharadeen, said the fire started in the early hour of the day as a result of electrical fault, which had been rectified.

He, therefore, maintained that the inferno, which was minor, immediately received the intervention of state fire service.