By Politico Staff Writer
A fire accident last Wednesday evening has gutted five apartments at the Kingtom Police Barracks, leaving the officers and their families homeless. The blaze reportedly happened at around 7-8 pm. No deaths or injuries were reported but the entire belongings of the occupants were completely burnt.
Neighbour volunteers who rushed to the scene with pails of water and fought valiantly to put out the fire and by the time fire department officers arrived, there was left only the smoldering frame of the structure that had sheltered the five officers and their families.
The cause of the fire is yet to be determined, though Inspector- General of Police Ambrose Sovula, who visited the scene the following morning, reportedly advised people residing at the barracks to always disconnect their electrical appliances from the mains whenever they were going out.
In a telephone interview with Politico past Friday, Deputy Head of Police Media, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Samuel Saio Conteh, said the police boss during his visit to the scene gave each affected family Le5 million. His wife, who is head of the Police Wives Association, Inspector Hawa Angela Sovula, also made an undisclosed token presentation to the affected police officers and their families, on behalf of the association.
ASP Conteh said the visit of IG Sovula was “quite remarkable” as it lifted the spirits of all those affected by the fire and gave them a sense of belonging. The police spokesman also explained about the prompt intervention of the Police Management, which he said has resulted in starting reconstruction work on the quarters less than 48 hours after the fire outbreak, though he was unable to give a timeframe as to when the work would be completed.
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