One Person Wounded From The Blaze
PHOTO: Homes gutted by fire in Buchanan
By King Brown, sarwahking@gmail.com
BUCHANAN, Liberia- More than nine people have are now homeless, after fire destroyed their home in this southern port city in Grand Bassa County, as the only fire truck here is broken down.
The incident occurred at 8:15am GMT on Monday in the Fairground community in Buchanan.
The cause of the fire outbreak could not be immediately established. But it was gathered that the Fire started blazing from the roof and it later spread to other parts of the building.
Clothes, food, mattresses, and other electronic materials belonging to occupants were all burnt to ashes as a result of the blaze.
Meanwhile, the commander of the Fire Service Detachment Samuel Wesseh said they have launched an investigation into the matter, trying to find out the cause of the fire outbreak.
Commander Wesseh said that a team of firefighters have been dispatched to go on the scene to inquire from the occupants and community dwellers about this incident.
He attributed their absence from the fire scene to the lack of vehicles, noting the only fire truck they depended on had broken down since April this year due to mechanical fault, making Grand Bassa residents vulnerable to fire disasters.
The fire truck was donated to the Grand Bassa detachment of the Liberia National Fire Service on November 25, 2020 by the government of Liberia.
According to eyewitnesses, the two-bedroom apartment was in the middle of another two houses that nearly gutted by fire but the presence of over 50 people from several communities with sticks, sand, and water prevented the two houses from the fire incident.
One of the occupants got severely wounded, while trying to get some of her belongings out of the building and she was rushed to the Liberia Government Hospital in Buchanan for treatment.
The Fire Service Detachment of Grand Bassa County did not make its way to the scene to extinguish the fire. However, the fire was fought by community dwellers even though the entire building completely burned to ashes.