By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh
Fifty-year-old breadwinner Mariama Bojang has lost properties worth over D300k in the Sunday morning blaze which swept through the Brikama market around 3 a.m., destroying almost ten shops and unquantifiable valuables.
In the early hours of Sunday at around 3 a.m., smoke began engulfing a canteen opposite the Gambia Revenue Authority office before turning into a full-blown fire outbreak, damaging properties in almost ten canteens.
Among the canteens/shops that the blaze ravaged, is a canteen owned by Mariama Bojang, a fifty-year-old woman who does stationery business as well as printing and photocopying with machines.
The devastated businesswoman narrated to The Fatu Network that she was informed about the fire incident around 3 a.m. by her husband before rushing to the ground.
“When I arrived, I found the shop in the fire. No chance for me to get in to rescue my machines from the fire,” the distressed woman explained.
“I have properties worth over three hundred thousand. My life has gone back to square one. I have nothing else, and I am basically taking care of my family with this business because my husband is old,” she narrated.
She explained that she uses whatever she earned from the canteen to take care of her family and relatives. With Tobaski almost around, the downhearted Mariama said difficult times await her.
Musa Drammeh is a middle age young man who has a tailoring shop. According to Musa, he arrived at the ground shortly before the smoke turned out into a fire outbreak.
With five tailoring machines and piles of sewed clothes, Musa damaged his canteen door when the fire and rescue service failed to douse the fire in their first attempt.
“I have clothes for my customers and pieces that I can pay for. When the fire and rescue services came with small water, I knew it was going to be devastating. So, I broke my door and took out my machines and some clothes before the fire reached my canteen,” he narrated.
However, despite his efforts to take out some of his material, the fire reached his canteen and burned it beyond recognition.
About nine canteens, including five tailoring shops, were all burned into ashes. All the tailors are busy sewing Tobaski clothes for customers. Ousman Janneh, who could only recognize his burnt seat in his tailoring shop, said only the Almighty knows what will happen to him after today.
Speaking to The Fatu Network, Ousman Bojang, the Governor of West Coast, who visited the venue to see firsthand what happened, said that it is sad that such a thing happened to shop owners.
He remarked that he will wait for the report from the Brikama Fire and Rescue Services and the Brikama Area Council Market Committee to establish the cause of the fire outbreak before taking any steps.
He called on the shop and canteen owners to be wary of electricity cables and their potential damage in fire incidents.
Most of the shops that were affected are makeshift canteens, which made it difficult to prevent the fire from reaching other canteens.
These canteens are around the Brikama Area Council office.
The Fatu Network could not reach out to The Brikama Area Council chairman Yankuba Darboe who is not in town.
