Monrovia – The Liberia National Fire Service (LNFS) has stated that electrical shock was responsible for the fire disaster that claimed the lives of 28 Liberians, including 26 kids.
On Wednesday, September 18, the victims died as a result of a fire disaster that gutted an Islamic school building in the Bassa Community in Paynesville, outside Monrovia.
Reading the report on the tragic incident, Monday, September 30, at their Newport Street office, the Director of the LNFS, Col. Alex K. Dickson, revealed that the cause of the fire incident in Bassa Town was electrical shock.
“This building had electricity on the night of the fire,” Col. Dickson added.
Before they arrived at this conclusion of electrical shock, the LNFS head said they had taken samples/debris from the burnt structure for their investigation.
He disclosed that they had sent their findings to their partners in the US and Ghana for revision before coming up with the cause of fire.
“Fire investigation is not like criminal investigation where you see the person. Instead, we went there and we had to take the debris to come and test and know whether there was any foul play or something,” the LNFS boss said.
Col. Dickson clarified that speculations in some quarters about petrol bombs and other chemicals being used to put the Quranic Recitation Center on fire, were “misleading and untrue”.
“From our testing of samples from the building, it didn’t show any chemicals but rather electrical shock,” he stressed.
According to the Fire Service boss, the building or crime scene was demolished and clear-out by his institution in consultation with the Liberia National Police and Public Works Ministry to help erase the sorrowful memory of the incident especially from the grieving family members.
“Before giving the order to the Ministry of Public Works to clear the site, our investigation was already concluded. We told them to clear out the building because picture, has an effect and so the best thing we could do was to clear out the site,” he added.
To stop future electrical shocks, the LNFS boss is calling on all Liberians to consult with the Liberia National Fire Service before electrifying their homes to avoid electrical shocks.
“Liberians need to know that there are a lot of substandard electrical materials that are being used in the wiring of homes. The public safety law also cautions us that before completing your home, consult the LNHS to inspect and advise you thereof,” he disclosed.
Col. Dickson further disclosed that what he was reading was just talking points that he had culled from the full report and the full version has been submitted to the President.
Muslim Graveyard
The deceased have since been buried at the Muslim Graveyard between Chugbor and Gaye Town, Old Road Community.
President Weah, who had earlier on the morning following the incident had stopped by the tragic scene, was joined by the Guinean Ambassador to Liberia and Doyen of the Diplomatic Corps, Ambassador Alhaji Abdulaye Doré, some members of the ECOWAS Parliamentarians, Representative Edwin Melvin Snowe and Senator Prince Y. Johnson, at the grave to finally see the kids and their teachers being buried.
Also, hundreds of Liberian Muslims and others turned out, too, at the grave, which is commonly referred to as “Mandingo Graveyard” to see the dead get their final resting places.
There was wailing from the male relatives of the children as no woman, by the Islamic religious order, is allowed to be at the place of burial.