CONGO TOWN, Montserrado – Five persons have been reported dead in a tragic fire incident that occurred on Pagos Island in Congo Town at about 3:00 a.m. on February 15.

One of the victims of the incident, Barbara Morris, said she and others in the home were all asleep when her brother, Emmanuel Morris, began shouting to alert them to the fire in the room. She said before they could get people to help in the process, her brother and four others had perished.

She said the five persons who died were Emmanuel Morris, his partner Felicia Delma, and their three children: Leon, Morris, and Leroy. Their charred bodies were later seen among the remains of the structure.

Kelvin Kpont, a resident of the community and an eyewitness to the disaster, noted that the three-bedroom home constructed of zinc roofing sheets had 16 persons living in it. He said the 11 others survived with no noticeable injuries. Kpont said the incident happened at 3:00 a.m.

Raymond Johnson, who identified himself as a brother of the deceased, said he had talked to Emmanuel Morris before they went to bed. Late at night, he said he heard a loud noise, which later led to screams that there was fire in the house. He said he tried to help the victims escape but strong fire and smoke made it difficult to see anything in the house.

“If there was another person around me to help at that moment, my brother was not going to die in that fire incident,” Johnson said.

A community member, Comfort Gbapo, appealed to the government and NGOs to come to the aid of the victims, noting that Emmanuel Morris was the only breadwinner for the family of 16 and that his death would be a major loss. He had previously worked for City Builders, she said.

“They are very poor,” Gbapo said. “They are homeless and have lost everything in the incident; therefore, it will be good if the government intervenes.”

Rebecca Morris, the mother of the deceased, said she has nothing to live for now, as she had lost her primary caretaker.

“I wanted to kill myself, but in time, community members came in and gave me courage to live for my other kids,” the weeping mother said. “But how am I going to survive with them when not even a cloth or pin was saved from our home?”

“They have gone to bury my son and his woman and my grandkids and I will not see them again. I have lost whole five in a day,” she added.

The police have not yet provided a report on the cause of the fire as the investigation is still ongoing.

Featured photo by Mafanta Kromah