BUCHANAN, Grand Bassa – A fire last week has left three children dead and several properties damaged in Buchanan.

The incident occurred at the back of the J. C. Early Elementary and Junior High United Methodist School on New York Street in an 11-bedroom house at about 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday, October 25. The fire was started by a lit mosquito coil.

According to Luke Cheeseman, an eyewitness, the fire started in one of the bedrooms and spread to other parts of the house.

Cheeseman said a mosquito coil had been lit to ward off mosquitoes. However, while the inhabitants of the house were sleeping, the coil must have dropped onto the floor mat and onto the curtains and other flammable materials in the room, spreading fire to the remaining parts of the house.

The smoke woke up most of the residents in the house, however, the three children were still in their room sleeping and the heavy flames prevented others from rescuing them.

Cheeseman said the victims did not salvage anything from the house and there were no means to arrest the spread of the fire.

The entire house was burnt, leaving the victims homeless.

The children who died were Blessing Weah, Dehnue Saywon and Janjay Weah, all of whom ranged in ages from one to five years old. They belonged to Sundayway Cheeseman, who had been raising the children as a single mother since last year when her husband died.

Firefighters from the Liberia National Fire Service were not at the scene. Attempts to contact the Buchanan branch for comments did not materialize, although the fire service truck has not been functional for some time.

Featured photo courtesy of NSW RFS Media Services