Guinea: Conakry affected by a disturbing wave of fires

Text by: RFI Follow

On Saturday, February 22, half a dozen shops went up in smoke at the Cimenterie market, in the upper suburbs of Conakry. It is the fourth market to catch fire this month, and at least the 17th fire of the week in the capital.

Publicity

With our correspondent in Conakry, Carol Valade

Firefighters are sorely lacking in resources to deal with this phenomenon, the magnitude of which is worrying at the start of this year, and which is causing considerable material losses, but also human lives.

The body of a 5-year-old girl was found among the debris of burnt sheet metal, not far from the entrance to the Matoto market where Arafan Condé runs a computer center. " There is a clandestine factory that caught fire and the fire has spread to us. Everything went up in smoke. He estimates that the extent of the material damage is " enormous " and would amount to " billions of francs ".

A tank from the Indian plastic company Topaz intervened. Its agents lend a hand to civil protection, whose vehicle capacity does not exceed 3,000 liters, or 5 minutes of intervention at full speed.

Vehicles broken down, no functional fire hydrant in Conakry, firefighters do not even have their own water supply, deplores Moussa Camara, director general of Civil Protection. “ Since the beginning of the year, even we, as specialists, have not known what is really going on. We are worried. We never had a report from the police, the gendarmerie, to say exactly the real causes of a fire. "

Accidental or criminal causes? Lack of investigation. The question remains.

Newsletter With the Daily Newsletter, find the headlines directly in your mailbox

Download the app

• Guinea

On the same subject

[Report] Violence in Guinea: things seen in the Wanindara district

It's a debate with Wathi

The constitutional referendum in Guinea

Guinea: controversy over the care of the wounded during the demonstrations