On Monday 9th November 2020, over 50 houses in Culgbayah and Port Loko Wharf settlements at Susan’s Bay in Freetown were consumed in a raging inferno. The fire disasters which affected the two communities in the slum settlement, hours apart, destroyed millions of Leones worth of household properties and displaced close to 100 residents.
Eyewitness account revealed that the fire was fierce and fueled by free burning materials like plastic roofing sheets, tarpaulin, cardboards and corrugated sheets. “The wind was heavy at the time so the fire spread rapidly consuming everything in its path,” said a male eyewitness.
A household head and victim of the fire incident at the Culgbayah community, Abu Bakarr Sesay, explained his loss in a frustrating manner.
“We lost over Le15 million due to the fire. Our freezers were destroyed as we sell cold drinks and water. I was having a two storey building and it was engulfed and collapsed. The fire was so fierce that when we went to put it off, the radiant heat could not allow us. We had four apartments and more than 13 people were residing in them,” he stated in tears.
On the cause of the fire, victim Yusifu Koroma said, “We heard that a woman came from Empire (night club) at around 3:00 am and wanted to heat food when the fire escaped from the Dutch stove ‘coal pot’ and spread. The fire made 15 people homeless in my house. The Fire Force personnel came with two fire engines from the A.J. Momoh Street headquarters and battled the flames till day break. We could not salvage any items.”
On the victims’ predicaments, N’thuma Kamara blamed thieves for stealing most of the goods they salvaged from the burning houses.
“Right now, we are only having what we have on our bodies as all our clothing was burnt. We had 30 rooms in our house which was an adjoining. The corridor was narrow, so it was very difficult for people to pass, talk less of removing goods at a quick rate. We lost everything and most of us are traders, our goods, money and household furniture all perished,” she revealed.
On the assessment of the wholesome destruction, the chairman of the Disaster Management Committee (DMC), Joseph T. Conteh explained that the Office of National Security (ONS) was at the site registering victims for a relief effort.
“We have registered over 20 household heads with 61 rooms. No death was recorded but significant number of personal belongings were destroyed and few personal injuries,” he averred. He assured that the victims might receive relief packages from the ONS as soon as the assessment of the destruction is completed.
Furthermore, a 13-bedroom household at Port Loko Wharf in the Susan’s Bay was also destroyed by fire at around 1:00 pm on Monday 9th November 2020. According to Mohamed S. Jalloh, the fire destroyed a one storey building.
“This is the third time this building has been burnt by fire. The total number of affected people is 20 while the loss of property is huge,” he noted.
Meanwhile, the victims are calling on government and philanthropic organisations to urgently come to their aid, as they are in a dire situation. Some of them are residing at the community centre while others have sought refuge at the homes of friends and family members.
By David Thoronka & Sahr E. George