The President of the Republic, H.E. Dr. George Manneh Weah, made rounds on Monday, August 16, 2021, for firsthand assessment of two disaster scenes, after which he announced an emergency meeting of his cabinet for possible action.
The biggest public referral hospital in Margibi County, the C.H. Rennie Hospital, was gutted by fire, and a major annex burned down completely on Sunday, while a fuel tanker burst into flames on Friday on crowded Water Street in Monrovia, destroying countless private properties, including business centers.
President Weah on Monday first drove to Kakata, just 24 hours after the hospital’s fire disaster, before running back to Monrovia to see for himself the situation on Water Street.
Apparently dejected after seeing the magnitude of the fire disaster, the President walked through charred debris of zincs and collapsed pieces of blocks that littered the hallway of the main burned structure of the hospital in Kakata.
Speaking to reporters later, President Weah did not hold back his feelings in saying that the burning of the hospital, which serves the people of Margibi County and parts adjacent, is one of several disasters that have befallen the nation in a month’s time. This was in reference to the recent sinking of the ship, leaving dozens of citizens dead, and the veering of the fuel tanker down Waterside before bursting into conflagrations, that wiped out several businesses.
“Well, it is difficult to say. These are difficult times for our country,” the President said. “Just the other day, an oil tanker lost control on Water Street and houses got burned. So there are different disasters here and there in the country.”
In the case of C.H. Rennie Hospital, the Liberian Leader said the issue is not just about what next to do in terms of putting the hospital back into operations, but what should be done to avert reoccurrence of the problem that caused the fire there.
One significant way to address fire situation at hospitals, the President asserted, is to have fire extinguishers and trained manpower, such as electrical engineers, who would rise to the occasion when there is fire alarm.
President Weah said what happened at the hospital could have been avoided if there were fire extinguishers on the ground, averring that “we will however find solution to the problems”.
On the back of the C.H. Rennie situation, the Chief Executive announced that his cabinet will on today convene to discuss measures that would be taken by the government.
“This is an emergency we have on hand,” he stated, saying that the burden is now on the government to ensure that the hospital is restored to its normal operation by reconstructing the facilities.
He emphasized the importance of having fire trucks in each of the fifteen sub-divisions of the country to combat the growing fire disasters around the country.
The Liberian leader however urged Liberians to play their parts in safeguarding private and public properties by avoiding smoking and indulging into other unwholesome practices around hazard-proned facilities.
President Weah also used the occasion to express concern at the loss of lives occasioned by the sinking last month of Niko Ivanka. From Kakata, Margibi County, where he assessed damages that occurred at the C.H. Rennie Hospital, the Liberian leader also visited the scene of the fire disaster down Waterside. A drifted fuel tanker fell on residential buildings and business centers and burst into flames.