By Desmond Gbeleh Wion
In the heart-wrenching hours of early Thursday morning, a deadly fire blaze swept through the Matadi community near Don Bosco, claiming the lives of four innocent children and a firefighter, and reigniting national debate over Liberia’s urban planning failures and fire safety preparedness.
The Liberia National Fire Service (LNFS) received the emergency call at approximately 1:01 a.m., and within just 11 minutes, firefighters arrived at the scene. But despite their swift response, the truck could not reach the burning home due to a maze of unauthorised buildings and blocked alleyways—a stark symbol of Monrovia’s long-standing urban planning chaos. Forced to continue on foot, the firefighters battled through the dense neighborhood only to find the zinc shack completely engulfed in flames.
“We were told that others in the house escaped, but four children were left inside. By the time firefighters reached them, it was too late,” said LNFS Director Chief G. Warsuwah Barvoul Sr., his voice heavy with sorrow. The children—Marco Mamalu (12), Emmanuel Flomo (8), Elizabeth Mamalu (6), and Lusu Kamara (2)—perished in the inferno, their names now etched into Liberia’s growing ledger of avoidable tragedies.
Tragically, one firefighter, reportedly from the Springfield unit, also died in connection with the rescue efforts. His identity has not yet been released, pending notification of his family.
Preliminary reports point to a mosquito coil as the likely cause, left burning unattended in one of the rooms. Chief Barvoul, while underscoring the need for fire safety at the household level, used the moment to highlight broader institutional challenges. “Densely populated communities and poor urban planning are putting lives at risk. We cannot continue like this,” he stated, issuing a sobering reminder of the cost of inaction.
The incident has triggered a sharp response from the Ministry of Information. Deputy Minister for Public Affairs Daniel Sando bluntly addressed the root of the tragedy: illegal construction and the failure to preserve critical emergency access routes. “Even with a swift response, our trucks couldn’t get in,” Sando lamented. “People are building indiscriminately—blocking alleys, obstructing emergency access, and putting everyone at risk.”
Sando also came to the defense of the Ministry of Public Works, which has come under fire recently for demolishing illegal structures in alleyways. “Those houses being demolished are the same ones preventing rescue vehicles from saving lives. If the alley had been open, those children might still be alive,” he declared.
As Liberia mourns the devastating loss of young lives, pressure is mounting on the government to enforce urban planning regulations with renewed urgency. The fire in Matadi stands not only as a painful tragedy but as a national wake-up call—demanding swift reform, stronger enforcement, and collective responsibility to prevent such horrors from recurring.
In a country already grappling with systemic challenges, this moment serves as a stark reminder: unless deliberate steps are taken to address the dangerous overlaps of poverty, negligence, and unplanned urban growth, more lives will be lost—not just to flames, but to a system that fails to protect its most vulnerable.
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