Monday, around 12:45pm:  The Fishries and Water Resources building was engulfed in a fire.  According to staff, the cause of the fire is unknown.

A senior staff at the ministry said the fire started at the top of the department’s administrative building down to the bottom. “It was a shock and we were all dumb-founded at the said time of seeing the building burning starting from the administrative building of the department,” a staff retorted.

The Gambia fire and rescue service was contacted but couldn’t extinguish the fire as it had already engulfed the entire building starting from the top. They tried but to no avail. 

The fire and rescue team of Banjul international airport was also contacted for help but before their arrival, the entire building was completely finished and burnt to ashes. With all the efforts of the fire and rescue team of Banjul, they couldn’t extinguish the blaze as it had over-powered rescuers.

Another senior staff said the fire came as a surprise to them and cannot ascertain its cause. He said all their department files were burnt to ashes and he doubted if they have a back-up plan for issues like this. 

“If not then the entire department is doomed,” he stated. As we file this report the cause of the fire is not known yet. A fire officer said they had tried to extinguish the fire with limited resources, but to no avail.

He said they had to contact the airport fire service for help but before they arrived the entire building already got finished. “This is a serious concern as the fire service of Banjul station is limited in resources only to seek help from the airport.

“The government should do everything possible to address this unfortunate issues for her citizenry. Fire accident is becoming a norm in the Gambia. From the gas company, a bus  and now an entire department,” lamented an observer.

As the fire incident report occurred in Banjul, President Barrow had already left the capital by 11am to continue his meet-the- people tour starting at Foni Jarrol.

Gambia is witnessing an increase in dangerous fires that service men cannot fight. But the Barrow administration purchased two water cannon trucks to spray hot water on Gambians.