PHOTO: The burnt out apartment building
By J. Peter S. Dennis, dennisrealone@gmail.com
0770177125/0888958945
A two-bedroom apartment has been hit by fire in Gbarnga, Liberia’s central Bong County, completely destroying everything in the building.
The incident has left the family homeless as they took with them nothing from the house.
The tragic incident is believed to have started around 7AM on Saturday November 27, 2021 in the civil compound community.
There was no human casualty reported thus far as materials including cash, documents was destroyed.
Civil compound is one of the largest communities in Gbarnga.
According to community residents, the fire was allegedly triggered by the house owner’s grandson who was playing with fire in the kitchen, while warming his food early that morning.
“The little boy was throwing the fire up and now, but none of us took it very serious. You know when children are playing while warming rice in the morning; no one can really pay serious attention to them,”Justina Sumo said.
They further disclosed that the child is always in the habit of playing with fire; remembering that he was once flogged for by his grandmother.
They remembered that he once lit the bed spread with fire, but that was quenched bby his grandmother. The child is believed to be four (4) years of age, and he lives with his grandmother in Gbarnga, while his biological parents reside in Monrovia.
The grandmother only identified as ‘Ma Ton’ could not hold her back her tears, as we wept openly over the latest disaster.
She explained that this is the only property her late husband left with her prior to his demise a few years ago.
Ma Ton could not confirm nor deny that her grandson is responsible, but maintains that God knows why everything is happening to her right now.
But she made an urgent appeal for assistance to rebuild her house—her only dwelling place.
She named materials such as zinc, nails, timber, ceiling, cash, among other things she need at this critical moment of her life.
“I can’t even understand why these things are happening to me right now. Few years ago, I lost my husband. My children are not even around me! I don’t want to say they have abandoned me, but they’re hard to visit me. I am just here with this little boy along with others; he is the first son of my third daughter,” Ma Ton told Journalists minutes after the tragic hap.
She however said that she was not in the house when the fire started.
“I was not even in the house when the fire started. Before I realized it, it was already very late for me to go inside and take something. Only what you see on me is what I took from the house,” Ma Ton lamented.
“I don’t even know where I will be sleeping, what to be eating and in fact, how to go on with my life,” the distressed victim of the fire disaster cried.