GOMPA, Nimba – Several people have been rendered homeless in the Zankpa Street Community after a fire enveloped a four-bedroom house at around 11:00 a.m. on Monday, March 20, leaving it completely damaged.

The fire was said to have originated from one of the rooms in the house before spreading to other parts of the building although the exact cause has not yet been established. According to witnesses, the fire was uncontrollable, preventing community members from assisting in putting out the flames.

Yanpu Dolo, one of the residents and the only member of the house who was present during the fire, explained how she almost lost her child to the fire.

“This morning, I got through bathing my baby and lifted her in the room, but on my way to get out of my room, I saw fire in the other room,” Dolo explained. “I ran outside and left my baby in the room to call other people…and then I came back and entered the house to take my baby, but at that time the fire was too much in the other room.”

Yanpu Dolo speaks at the Ganta Police Station. Photo: Arrington Ballah

Unlike Monrovia and other areas closer to Monrovia, Ganta does not have available firefighting equipment in case of a situation like these.  Moreover, in Liberia, buildings are not required to have fire prevention tools like a smoke detector or sprinkler system.

The victims were unable to retrieve their belongings from the house and the fire consumed all valuables.

“The fire was too heavy,” Dolo said. “All the people that came said the fire was blazing too much so they were not able to do anything.”

Cyrus Cooper, a victim of the blaze, told reporters that the loss is especially burdensome to him as a father who is catering to a family of ten.

“This is a great loss for me,” he said. “I had about L$96,000 (US$960) in the house along with eight pieces of mattresses, my four-lot land deed, my voter registration ID Card, my business documents, cloths, and other important things that were in the room.”

Cooper said the situation has forced him to temporarily migrate with his family to his home village to resettle their lives.

“I have ten children that I am sending to school and then such a thing has happened – everything got burned in the house,” he added. “Right now, I do not have anything again. Me and my family don’t have anywhere to sleep. The only thing I can do right now is to go to my home and see how I can start my life again.”

Othello Cooper, the owner of the property, called on the government to come to his aid. Cooper, who built the structure approximately 20 years ago, said at the moment, his only source of survival is farming.

Othello Cooper, owner of the property damaged in the fire. Photo: Arrington Ballah

“The only thing [I’m] doing right now is to make a cassava farm in my home before I eat,” he said. “I am feeling very bad. What I’m going to do to get money to build my house again? I don’t know.”

“I am just calling on the government to come to my aid and help me,” he added, “I need materials to build my house back. I need zinc and all the materials to build my house back.”

The victims are calling on the government, their lawmakers, other humanitarian institutions, and well-meaning individuals to come to their aid.

Investigation on the cause of the fire is still ongoing.