By Nasratu Kargbo
An inferno that occurred last Sunday 19th September 2021 Kroo Bay community, has according to an assessment done by a relief organization, Caritas Sierra Leone left over 500 hundred men, women, children and disables homeless in the slum community.
The incident according to the Youth Chairman of the community, Charles Jones first started at 4 am; when the husband, a fisherman was at sea and the wife had gone out to Dove Cot to buy goods for sale. Jones said the four rooms’ apartment burnt to ashes, however, the fire was managed and no house around was affected that morning.
He added that it was later that day at around 4 pm, that they noticed another fire outbreak not far from where it started in the morning. This time, he said, it went out of control as it kept spreading wide in the neighbourhoods bringing down any house it reaches.
Jones said they are in dire need of shelter which he said they cannot do without currently. He called on the government and other humanitarian organizations to urgently support them with shelter. He added that they might be able to manage without food but it is difficult to do the same with shelter, especially during the current season.
He said most of the other neighbours who are not affected have single rooms which they manage with their family, and can hardly be of any help to the victims.
He went on to note that the affected children are mostly school going pupils who have started schooling at the commencement of the new academic year but have lost all their school materials to the fire and therefore cannot continue schooling for the time being.
Speaking to Politico, one of the victims Ibrahim Kamara said he was seriously affected by the disaster, stating that the cause of the fire remains a mystery to them.
He said the national fire service did go to the scene but for the lack of access to the community due to the congested and clustered housing pattern, they could be of no help “the job of putting out the fire was left with the youths in the community who were able to finally put out the fire after 90 rooms were burnt.”
However, no death was recorded.
Copyright © 2021 Politico Online (22/09/21)
