By Mohamed Foday Conteh
Another fire incident has on Wednesday 17th November 2021 left many residents of Aberdeen community homeless. The Station Officer at the Aberdeen Fire Station, Foday F. Kamara confirmed to Politico that ten houses were destroyed in the fire.
Kamara, explained that they got a distress call at around 3 in the afternoon about the incident. He added that the situation would have been more devastating, had it not been for their swift intervention.
He said that their initial investigation, revealed that the fire started in one compound which later extended to two other compounds, and surrounding houses.
The Station officer said so far their investigation was yet to reveal the actual cause of the fire but assured it was not connected to electrical problems. “The cause is a naked light that came in contact with free burning materials,” the officer said. Kamara said that they are more alert at this time of the year than other periods as fire disasters are occurring more frequently.
“The festive season is fast approaching and most people are normally not at home,” he added.
However, Kamara confirmed that there were no casualties in the Aberdeen fire incident.
Ruth Bangura is one of the victims of the fire. She said she lived with her mother and siblings in one of the apartments affected by the blaze.
“We did not take out anything,” she said. She added that they lost everything in the fire. Bangura could not tell the cause of the fire. She said there were 10 rooms in the compound where she lived with her mother and siblings. Salaymatu Turay, another affected resident, told Politico they were sleeping when the fire started. Like Bangura and her family, they were unable to take out their belongings from the inferno.
She said that some authorities arrived at the scene and promised to document the names of those affected the following day, but they didn’t show up.
Efforts to reach the National Disaster Agency for official figures on those affected and comments on the incident proved futile.
This happened 12 days after the devastating Wellington inferno caused by fuel tanker blast that left over hundred people dead, and some still hospitalised.
Copyright © Politico Online 17/11/21
