By: SHALLON S. GONLOR
NIMBA COUNTY — Nimba County commander of Liberia National Fire Service has condemned a recent incident where the angry crowd of Ganta City, John Wesely Pearson School community, stoned a fire truck that was responding to a fire incident.
LNFS Nimba Commander Terry Mahn has cautioned residents of the Ganta community and the county against attacking staff and the first truck while on duty. “Just before they got to the incident, they met a group of community members who were protesting in the area.
“They started stoning the fire engine, and God came first none of our firefighters sustained injuries. “We are very disturbed by this incident as it disrupts service delivery. “We are pleading with residents to refrain from attacking the city assets whenever our team is on the ground to respond to any fire incident,” he said sternly.
In a heartfelt effort to address the urgent need for modernization in firefighting, Mr. Tomah Seh Floyd, Sr., the Chief Executive of Jungle Energy Power, donated a firetruck to the Nimba County office of Liberia National Fire Service.
The Chief Executive of JEP and Liberia senior business tycoon donated the firetruck to Nimba County and assured the people of Nimba and LNFS of his readiness to work and embark on a mission to rally support in addressing the crucial capacity gaps at the National Fire Service of Liberia. But in a shocking move on late Wednesday evening, 6 November 2024, citizens and residents of Ganta, Nimba County, stoned the fire truck that was responding to a fire incident in the John Wesely Pearson School community.
The stone-throwing occurred while the firetruck responded to a fire that gutted a four-bedroom house in the area. The stone-throwing was triggered when residents argued and condemned the late arrival of the firetruck response to the fire scene. The fire incident brings to account the number of fire incident occurrences that have destroyed homes and properties in Ganta City. On Friday, September 17, 2024, a fire outbreak displaced more than five business centers and homes in the LPMC community.
Several stores and shops, including other business facilities, were destroyed, while schools and marketers in the LPMC Community, Ganta, were forced to leave. Citizens then emphasized the inadequacy of having only one fire truck for a county of over 621,000 residents, calling on Nimba lawmakers and humanitarian organizations to intervene and improve fire response services in the county.
It can be recalled on July 7, 2023, between 2 and 3 A.M., four persons lost their lives to a tragic fire incident, burning them all beyond identification in the Bassa Community in Ganta, Nimba County. It is the first time a fire truck and staff have been attacked while conducting their work. However, the Nimba County commander of the Liberia National Fire Service had warned residents to desist from attacking and robbing staff, as that could force LNFS staff volunteering to withdraw services.
