MONROVIA – A pregnant woman, including four others are reported dead in a 3-story building following a tragic fire outbreak in the Bong Mines community along the Bushrod Island outside Monrovia on Wednesday, December 13, 2023.
The victims included Massa Kamara, a pregnant woman aged 40, Abdul Bigen aged 12, Hassan Bigen aged 3, and Wang Bigen a Chinese national and father to the two children.
The fire began early Wednesday morning hour of 4am and residents in the area immediately contacted local radio, HOTT FM Crime Watch Program to get in touch with the Liberia National Fire Service.
The Crime Watch Program which helps individuals with an emergency during the night hours immediately alerted the firefighters at the Liberia National Service.
Upon the firefighters’ arrival on the scene, a member of the Crime Watch Program night bird team who was providing an update on the fire outbreak said that firefighters found it very difficult to enter the house premises because the only entrance was built with a steel door and locked.
“Occupants of the house were shouting and crying for help while the firefighters were trying very hard to enter the premises,” the Crime Watch Program night bird team member said.
He explained that after several attempts, the firefighters entered the premises of the building and made their way to the third floor of the building where the victims resided adding “all the entrances were locked”.
The Crime Watch Program night bird team member indicated that the firefighters began battling the fire but their efforts could not yield any fruitful results because of the locked steel doors to the main entrance to the victims’ apartment and all the rooms in the house.
A visit to the scene by the Crime Watch Program observed that the entrance to the building including bedrooms were all built with metal steel doors.
Kesselly Sumo, the head for operations at the Liberia National Fire Service when contacted by the Crime Watch Program said investigations are underway to establish the cause of the fire outbreak. Source: HOTT FM
