Yaounde VI Council building razed down in flames again!
By Nambu Bernadette Franka
The Yaounde VI council building at Carrefour Acacia in the Biyem-Assi neighborhood was destroyed by fire on Friday, September 8, 2023.
The fire incident razed down part of the Municipal Treasury and the Civil Registration office. According to eyewitnesses, firefighters arrived at the venue 45 minutes later but didn’t have enough water to quench the huge flames and had to go and bring more water.
According to the Mayor of the council, Jacques Yoki Onana, the fire seems to have originated from the second floor of the building.
“We are very pained because this incident will bring a breakdown to the developmental process that we have put up in Yaounde VI, we will surely have to start from scratch. This is not the first time this Is happening, In 2014, we had a similar incident. We struggled to rebuild to what we have today which has just gone in flames. Now, we will have to start again, it’s not easy to even think of it,” the mayor said.
A lady who had her marriage documents in the building said it would not be easy for her to compile the documents again and reschedule her wedding.
“I feel terrible, it’s annoying, the documents were for my court wedding, I lack words to express how I feel. I heard the building was burnt down and came to see and get information concerning where I dropped the documents. The gendarmes told me everything was burnt down and I should come back in two weeks. My wedding was supposed to be by the end of this month, how do I even start rescheduling,” the devastated lady told CNA.
In 2014, a fire ravaged the new town hall headquarters located next to Niki Biyem-Assi at the time. On January 23, 2020, Mayor Yoki Onana inaugurated the brand-new council building that had just gone down in flames.
