By Moses M. Tokpah/MARGIBI
A victim of recent fire disaster in Vai Town Community, in Kakata City, Margibi County, S. Roosevelt Jordan, has launched an SOS call for financial and material supports.
Roosevelt told the Inquirer Newspaper that his house containing 10-bedrooms, 2-bath rooms, a kitchen and a porch, was gutted by fire on Friday, March 14, 2025 completely destroying the structure and personal belongings of all theinhabitants.
Seven of the rooms, Roosevelt narrated, were occupied by tenants while the remaining ones were occupied by his family members.
Roosevelt said the occupants most of whom are Muslims, are sheltering with friends, relatives and neighbors indicating that there were 35 occupants including children.
He added that some of the dwellers, who are students, are unable to go to school because according to him, their school materials such as uniforms, shoes and books were all destroyed by the fire.
“Friends are helping them to get along, but up to now we haven’t had anybody coming to assist the victims, so this is why we’re making an SOS call to people who are humanitarians, even county authority to come to give some level of assistance” he explained.
Giving the historicity of the incident, Roosevelt said the fire erupted at about 2am from an electronic shop that was attached to the building and rapidly spread across the structure despite efforts by neighbors to have it quenched.
He said except the individual who occupied the shop, all other inhabitants of the house were asleep and did not know about the outbreak, adding that by the time they came to themselves, the fire had already taken over the building.
According to him, the occupant of the shop was severely affected by the fire, and he is currently undergoing medical treatment at the Barkolleh Health Center in Kakata.
Roosevelt said he was in Monrovia when the incident occurred, but he was informed during the morning hours that the house was destroyed by fire though there was no electrical power in the city at the time.
He said the building was being supplied by the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC), but he was informed that current went off on Thursday and did not come on up to the date of the incident (Friday).
Roosevelt believes that the fire originated from a mosquito coil that may have been used by the occupant of the shop because there was ‘no electricity and no one burns candle in the house’.
He described the burning of the house as a serious blow to his family on grounds that it was like a source of income for them, and having it destroyed by the fire means they can no longer have the privilege to get something for the family.
The fire victim is meanwhile calling on national government, philanthropists, local government officials, national and international non-governmental organizations, and diaspora Liberians and the business community to come to their aid.
He said the immediate needs of the tenants most especially those who are Muslims, is food on grounds that the food items they purchased for the Ramadan got destroyed by the fire.
In addition to that, Roosevelt said he needs financial and material assistance to enable him initiate the rebuilding process of the house, putting the estimated cost between US$50,000 to US$75,000.
