Victims multiply as cameroon grapples with insufficient fire response unit
By Synthia Lateu
A huge quantity of wood and timber turned to ashes and charcoal, smoldering. A plant formerly covered by wood is now exposed; pieces of zinc have turned red, and machines remain in their usual spots, now charred. Flames that began ravaging from outside the plant ultimately engulfed the entire factory from Saturday, February 22nd, into Sunday, February 23rd, in the Akwa Nord neighborhood of Douala 5. The owner, Muma Peter, is still in shock as he surveys his decade-long investment reduced to ruins. “I don’t know where to start nor where to end. I was planning to take my retirement in two years. I don’t know what to think now.” Muna expresses.
He can’t stop wishing that the firefighting brigade in the town had arrived as soon as they were called; perhaps he could have escaped the inevitable. The fire incident reportedly started with sparks from an electric pole following the abrupt return of electricity. Soon, the flames spread wildly, alerting the neighbours who notified Muma. Upon his arrival at around 01:00 A.M., he found the population mobilised, trying to put out the flames while awaiting firefighters.
Dina Stephane, Muma’s neighbour, still looking struck by the incident, recalled, “The streets were quiet; people were asleep. We woke up employees who lodged behind. We called the firefighters for about 45 minutes to an hour to no avail, so we had to go right to their office aboard a bike to find them.” He explains that they tried desperately to save anything they could from the factory that served the entire neighborhood and beyond.
Muma recounts that approaching the flames was nearly impossible, leaving him no time to save his official documents. “I thought that with the fire brigade, they might find something. But they didn’t have sufficient water, and the water they had didn’t have much pressure. So they concentrated on the neighboring houses,” he says.
He had to deliver furniture to his trusted client that morning. With close to 20 machines destroyed and customers’ orders ruined, Muma is yet to fathom the way forward.
This is yet another fire outbreak leaving scars on businesses and households alike in the economic capital of Cameroon. Just over a week ago, a refrigerator and air conditioning technician perished in flames in PK8. Firefighters managed to bring the flames under control, but it was too late to save the victim. The slow response from the firefighting brigades in the town has not helped the situation leaving the country grappling with multiple victims.
