By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
A fire incident on the night of Sunday 2nd June, 2023 at number 13 Hamilton Lane off Kissy Road in Freetown has left over ten people homeless.
The fire completely gutted the two-storey board house, reducing it to charred remains, after over two hours of fiery blaze.
One of the affected persons, Marie Wurie told Politico that she was woken from sleep by her sister who screamed that fire was sweeping through the house. She said she left her room without even thinking of what to take out.
She claimed that the fire started in a room where its occupant was not around. Youths had to force their way in but were too late to put off the fire. She couldn’t ascertain what led to the fire outbreak and expressed concern over what she said was the slow response of the National Fire Service, which only arrived after the fire had already consumed the building.
She pleaded to well-meaning organizations and Sierra Leoneans to come to their aid as she said all their belongings were lost in the incident.
The Divisional Officer (D.O) of the National Fire Force, Bintu Fatmata Kamara in an interview with Politico noted that the Commander on duty that night explained that it was very difficult to access the place due to the poor road network.
She said the commander had to park the engine and extend the hoses before they could reach the house and by then it was too late, saying it is one of the challenges they face in responding to fire incidents.
She also mentioned late calls, public ignorance of the Fire emergency hotline, and traffic congestion as other factors that impede the effective handling of fire cases.
She denied public claims that fire engines are sometimes stationed without water in them, saying it is a laid down rule for all fire drivers to refill their f engines after coming from a fire incident.
She also advised everyone to always put off their electrical appliances while leaving home and not to use poor quality electrical appliances or solicit the services of quack electricians to do substandard work for them.
Kamara also advised people to switch off their consumer units, saying most of the reported fire incidences are electricity-related.
“So putting the consumer unit off means you have created a disconnection between the flows of electricity in your home. Even if the voltage is not okay and the breaker is not good, you will stop the flow,” she said.
She also advised people to always have at least one extinguisher at home so that they could put off the fire when it starts. She urged women to use coal pots to manage them well and ensure that they have a painted pan to place the hot coal.
Copyright © Politico (05/07/23)
