By Aminata Phidelia Allie
Huge smoke bellowed out from the headquarters of the Sierra Leone Post Office (SALPOST) in Freetown late on Friday morning after fire broke out inside the building.
It later emerged that the source of the fire was the office of the General Manager of the corporation.
The fire destroyed everything inside the office of the General Manager, while business at the not-too-busy office on Siaka Stevens Street in central Freetown ground to a halt.
The chief fire officer of the Sierra Leone National Fire Force, who spoke to journalists inside the building minutes after putting out the fire, said his team discovered a malfunctioning air conditioner in the office. Nazir Ahmad Alie Kamanda-Bongay however said that he could not ascertain the cause of the fire. He said he could not tell “whether it was an electrical problem or a foul play”, adding “We do know that an electrical switch blew off, thereby causing the damage of the AC and other electrical keyboards". He said that "on whole, everything in the office has been destroyed”.
Kamanda-Bongay said the rate of damage to the office was high and the post office had been designated as a crime scene by both the fire force and the police. “It is therefore closed to the public for as long as investigations are ongoing” he said, adding that that should last for about three days.
The Consultant General Manager of SALPOST, Samuel Koroma told journalists that he had no clue as to what had caused the fire in his office. He said he had gone to his office earlier in the morning but left for a meeting at the National Revenue Authority.
“I later got a call that my office was on fire. When I got there and saw the smoke and fire in my office, I had a feeling that everything was gone, including my laptop which was switched on”, the post office boss said. He said that besides him, only the office messenger had the key to his office.
The head of the police criminal investigations department, Chief Superintendent Ibrahim Koroma told Politico that the SALPOST boss was making a statement at the CID headquarters. But he said his arrest was unlikely.
A post office staff told reporters that they were all busy at their different sections when they heard noises from people outside the building. “I rushed out only to see the fire in the GM’s office” he said.
Though important documents and data were lost in the fire, there were no casualties.
(C) Politico Online 22/11/13
