By Alieu Ceesay
On Sunday 1st May 2022, just one day before Eid Al Fitr (Koriteh) around 14:30hrs to 16:00hrs residents of Bakau Newtown were engulfed by a fire outbreak.
Without the Fire Services’ immediate attention residents were seen running to the quench the fire with buckets of water.
After the battle between residents of Bakau and the fire, five households were left to pick up what they could scavenge from the ashes that remained.
One resident affected by the fire told our reporter that “everything we had in the house was consumed by fire”.
Ndey Jatta, another victim explained how the fire-ravaged new clothes she bought for her children for today’s Koriteh celebration. “Clothes I bought for my kids in this coming Koriteh are all burned to ash with a cash of D3,000 that my son gave me,” she said.
Bakau’s Fire and Rescue Service joined residents to quench the fire, however, their efforts were brought to an abrupt end when their “water was finished” before quenching the fire.
Abdoulie Jallow, another victim, believes that the fire was caused by an “electricity failure” in one of the five houses. He counted important documents belonging to his wife, children’s education and professional documents amongst his losses.
Our reporter noted that the Kotu Fire and Rescue Service were also at the scene to help quench the fire.
Businesswoman Sohna Mbaye explained how she lost her refrigerator which is critical for her business. “My refrigerator is the only source of income for me and it has been burnt by the fire. My seats and clothes, everything in my house has burned to ash”
Victims called on the government and authorities to come to their aid.
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