By Laurina B. Lormia (Cub-Reporter)
The Congo Town residence of Montserrado County Senator Saah Joseph was Thursday morning gutted by fire, destroying thousands of United States dollars’ worth of properties.
Early, February 8, 2024, residents of Congo Town got up to an inferno, as the Senator’s resident was ablaze, burning to ashes before the fire service could intervene.
According to some eyewitnesses, the incident took place by 12:30am, after the Liberia Electricity Cooperation (LEC) power was switched on, adding, “but we cannot say whether it was the current that caused the fire or something else, because we are not trained to determine the cause of fire.”
“We, the residents of the community, were trying to fight the fire, so that it could not reach the plum tree standing next to the house, to give a wide spread of fire,” a resident of the community said.
According to Samuel R. Henry, “The current went off in the community during the evening hours, and came with force early that morning, and immediately, I heard people shouting on the other side of the community for help. When I got there, it was the home of Saah Joseph that was ablaze,” he said, noting that the rescuers had to break his main gate at the entrance, before entering the fence to help.
“Upon our arrival in the fence, we heard a voice of a lady at the back screaming for help; we got there and were able to break down the window to get her out, after which time she told us that the Senator was in the same room. Two police officers from the community entered through the same window to get him out,” Henry narrated.
“The officers took him out of the room through the window, very unconscious, we had to quickly put him in one of his vehicles and rush him at the Catholic Hospital,” he said.
Meanwhile, one of the Liberia National Police (LNP) officers who rescued the Senator, McKenna Tweh, said, “We went to get the Senator out of the house, but the smoke was too much; we managed and brought him out very helpless and rushed him at the hospital, but he is now responding to the medical treatment, and he is doing well,” Officer Tweh said.