Monrovia – Residents of ELWA Community were left in a state of confusion and sorrow on Saturday, July 1 when a fire in the area left three people dead.
Report by Gerald C. Koinyeneh – [email protected]
The victims include David Livingstone Weah, a can boy (petty gas seller who sells gasoline and diesel fuel in mayonnaise jars and in containers) and two men believed to be employees of a petroleum company who regularly supplied Weah.
According to eye witnesses, the fire started at the house of the late David at about 7:30PM when he was receiving supplies at his house, which doubled as storage and selling station for fuel and gas.
“I was sitting across the road right opposite this place and I heard a heavy sound like something blast.”
“Then we saw the fire and smoke coming from across here. “
“When the tanker’s driver noticed the fire, he quickly disconnected the pump and drove the truck away.”
“We tried to put the fire off but it was too heavy for us.“
By the time the Fire Service arrived, it was too late, explained Johnny Miller, a relative of the late David Weah.
Miller explained that it was after the Fireman extinguished the fire that they discovered the charred bodies of the three victims.
He said the deceased’s spouse and three children survived the incident.
“The fire was too heavy. I, along with other guys had to climb on the nearby building to stop the fire from spreading.”
“It was terrible,” another eye witness, who was on the rescue recounted.
Our reporter, upon arriving on the scene, saw fire fighters and community members trying to extinguish the fire and prevent it from extending to nearby houses.
Meanwhile the cause of the fire has not been established as the Liberia National police continue to investigate the incident.
Despite the danger associated with the open sale of gasoline, many Liberians are involved in the business.
There are about 150 can boys in the Redlight area alone, according to the Can Boys’ Association, formed in 2015 to advocate for the rights of can boys and help individual members meet challenges.
Hundreds more are scattered in Monrovia and its environs, highways, and marketplaces across the country.
They see their trade as a mean to escape the wrath of poverty in one of the poorest countries in the world.
They also face as many challenges as opportunities in plying their trade.
Some drivers see them as common criminals, petroleum dealers view them as illegal competitors, and the government sees them as a threat to public safety.
The law prohibits open sale of petroleum but government is forced to make concession as the number of can boys seems to increase each year.
Several fire outbreaks and arson attacks in the past have been blamed on can boys.
Sam Collins, Deputy Police Commissioner for Press and Public Affairs, speaking to FrontPage Africa at the beginning of this year, cites instances, including a 2016 incident in a community along the Roberts International Airport highway, where a mob set ablaze two vehicles and the residence of a man they alleged killed two boys for rituals.
But their loyal customers see them as friends, brothers in the struggle because they are readily available at any time of the day.
The Police and fire-fighters have raided can boys on several occasions.