Monrovia — The Liberia National Fire Service (LNFS), through its Director Alex Dixon has released a high-rated doubting investigative report into circumstances that led to the burning of the home of the newly elected Chairman of the opposition Unity Party Dr. J. Luther Tarpeh.
It can be recalled that on Friday, August 12, fire gutted the home of Rev. Tarpeh, completely destroying all of his belongings, including a Mitsubishi SUV in Paynesville, outside Monrovia-just few minutes' walk away from the Rehab Residence of President George Weah, and his party's standard bearer Ambassador Joseph Boakai.
The victim, who suspected foul play told reporters that the fire started at 1:00 Am from the garage where he had his diesel vehicle parked. He said the power supply to the home was from a solar panel source. According to him, he and community members have not had power supply for over two months from the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC).
"We called the fire service and we were told no gas. At some point when we decided to provide fuel, they told us no water and the engine couldn't start. It's unfortunate that our tax payers' money is paying them but they cannot provide the service needed."
Following the incident, his party issued a statement claiming that "government-hired arsonists" attacked its Chairman, days after armed men believed to be agents of the ruling CDC allegedly tailed the vehicle of the Chairman and other Party executives to identify locations of their homes.
The UP, however, called for the conduct of an independent forensic investigative panel to be set up to probe the incident. However, the government, through the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT) denied the accusation, neglected the call and mandated the LNFS to launch an investigation.
In its findings released under the signature of its Director Alex Dixon over in Monrovia over the weekend, the LNFS disclosed that a Class C fire destroyed the three-bedroom structure and all its contents owned by Rev. Tarpeh that was being used as boys' quarters.
The report, which was compiled by the Deputy Chief Fire Investigator, Moses D. Kollie pointed out that there was no break-in observed and the 9ft or 108inches fence which housed the destroyed home had only an entrance.
Security guard smelling something
The fire service report quoted the security guard as saying: "at 1:00 am, Rev. Tarpeh came out to ask Aaron Nimely Paye to switch power. I walked there, but when I was approaching the house, I smelled something burning like rubber. So, I said something burning oh. Aaron went to switch power. When he came back, he said oh I'm smelling something burning too."
The report claimed that Mr. Aaron Nimely Paye admitted that he usually switches power by 11:00 or 11:30 pm but that night, he "overslept" because he was too tired.
"I heard Rev. Tarpeh knocking at my window. I woke up and went out. He told me to switch the power. When I was going to switch power, I heard Railey saying I smelled something burning. So, I went to the powerhouse and switch from the gasoline generator to the diesel generator. When I came back, I smelled something burning. So, I decided to find out where the smell was coming from. I used the kitchen door to enter the house because the front door was locked. When I went in, I saw heavy smoke in the living room and fire blazing at the window. I shouted fire in the house! I went to the next room and told my brothers to get out. We got out and left Nathaniel Tarpeh there because he was in the other room sleeping. I went back in and helped him to get out and the neighbors came to help but the fire had already developed," the LNFS report further quoted Mr. Paye as saying.
According to him, calls were made to the LNFS, but no one came to the rescue of the Tarpehs.
The report further unearthed that electricity was being supplied in the compound by three power sources; including solar panels, generators and LEC.
"But LEC power has not been supplied for the past few weeks. When the fire started, two vehicles were parked in the garage. The one that was close to the fence was saved (driven away by the owner) and the one near the house burnt completely", the report maintained.
Investigator's remark
In his analysis, Fire Investigator, Kollie observed that there was no break-in noticed around Rev. Tarpeh's entire fence.
He ruled out the use of a petrol bomb or Molotov cocktail as the cause for the fire incident.
"Petrol bomb or Molotov cocktail is a single bomb made from a bottle filled with gasoline and stuffed with a piece of cloth that is lit just before the bottle is thrown. Had it been a petrol bomb used, it would have landed on the roof of the garage or on the roof of the house", the report justified
It added: "Mr. Alex Railey, the security, who was awake and well posted would have seen the flame since it is lighted before being thrown or heard the sound on the zinc. If it was petrol bomb, the fire would be observed on the roof of the garage or the house, instead, he smelt something burning. This means that something was burning gradually. It is always advisable to unplug your extension cords when they aren't being used."
Overheated extension cord
The LNFS Fire Investigator further attributed the incident to an overheated extension cord that was left plugged into one of the sockets.
"Unplugging your extension cord will help protect you from shock or fire while also prolonging the life of the cord itself by reducing heat buildup. Extension cords can overheat and cause fire when used improperly. In this case, the extension cord in Rev. Luther Tarpeh's living room left plugged into the wall outlet causing it to OVERHEAT, then fire starts."
"Having interviewed MR. AARON NIMELY PAYE, one of Rev. Luther Tarpeh's sons, and ALEX RAILEY, the security officer, analyzed the clues gathered, the Investigator from the Liberia National Fire Service concluded in his best opinion that the cause of fire is the result of an OVERHEATED EXTENSION CORD that was not unplugged after use.
Meanwhile, the Liberia National Fire Service has cautioned citizens to always unplug their appliances, electronics, and extension cords, among others when they are not being used.
However, the report released by the LNFS continues to raise more questions than answers.
UP reaction
In a statement issued over the weekend, the UP claimed that the report was released by the LNFS without the knowledge of the affected family.
The party rubbished the claim made by the Fire Service that the incident was triggered as a result of the burning of an extension cord.
"Unity Party rubbishes this false narrative written by the regime to brazenly extricate CDC operatives of being the masterminds behind the reported arson attack. Eyewitness accounts on the morning of the incident attest that prior to the attack, a certain black jeep was seen slowly driving at the edge of the Chairman's fence where it parked for a while and later two gentlemen disembarked and walked slowly toward the middle of the fence. As the gentlemen entered the vehicle and drove off, the account revealed that it did not take any long when smoke sprouted from the fence which later grew into wildfire."
The UP maintained that it is "sad that so-called Fire Service personnel who lack the elementary sense to keep water in fire trucks, would want to hoodwink Liberians into believing that they have the technical capabilities to investigate the cause of a fire that was started in the garage where there is no wall-circuit for extension cord."
The party continued: "Where in the World do you see professional investigators arrogantly bragging and threatening to resign should anybody prove their ridiculous report erroneous if such crooked elements are not backed by a failed regime? Nowhere else but Liberia, a nation where the suspended Sanctioned Minister of State still enjoys state security protection through EPS and commands the same level of influence as if he is still Minister of State."
The former ruling party noted that the CDC led-government earlier prejudiced the outcome of the investigative report when it denied that Chairman Tarpeh's home was attacked by thugs, which is why the report was written to justify this conclusion.
Rejecting the report
"The Unity Party strongly rejects the attempt by the GoL to downplay the scale of physical damage caused on the properties of its chairman as a result of the reported attack and requests an independent forensic investigation which it may consider credible."
While we empathize with the LNFS for the huge technical capacity gap due to the lack of support from the government, the party urges Fire Service to refrain from being used as a "pawn in the CDC cover-up shenanigans.
Meanwhile, the UP has vowed to continue to hold broad base consultations on this matter and other relevant governance issues, the outcome of which will determine the party's next course of action.
"To this end, Unity Party emphasizes its continued support and commitment to ensure stability and the peaceful coexistence of Liberians, however, it stands ready to resist any attempt by the CDC administration to undermine the peace and stability of the state, and the collective happiness of Liberians."
The Struggling LNFS
The Liberia National Fire Services (LNFS) was established in 1963 to safeguard the lives and properties of Liberians and non-Liberians from the scourge of destructive fire, across the length and breadth of the country, as well as to promote efficient fire prevention services.
Toward the full attainment of the overall mission statement of the agency, four (4) basic areas of services are offered including Fire prevention - This is an activity of fire safety involving the regular inspection of various types of occupancies and vehicles, providing education for precautionary and protection measures that are necessary to ensure safety from fire, this is referred to as fighting the fire before its occurrence, and Firefighting - This activity involves the physical combat of the outbreak, burning and spread of fire, which requires the combination of basic training with professional skills, and the use of proper equipment and tools-fighting fire during the occurrence.
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The rest are Ambulance services - Using professional and simple life-saving methods, combined with skills and life-saving equipment to save life or evacuate from cave-ins in burning buildings, vehicles and other entrapments and Fire investigation - The use of conventional approaches and skills to conduct ground assessment of fire incidents and determine their causes and effects, to detect if clues determine arson, and producing historical data of all incidents and investigations - fighting fire after the fire.
Despite its statutory mandate, the agency has not been able to adequately function due to huge budgetary and logistical constraints.
The lack of modern firefighting materials, including tankers, fire extinguishers constant fire prevention awareness and education, among others have been an age-old problem confronting the entity. As a result of this, the agency is constrained to accept unusable or unwanted firefighting equipment from friendly nations to beef up its logistical strength
In many counties in Liberia, the LNFS remain invisible due to limited manpower.
The lackadaisical and snail pace manner and form in which the entity moved towards combating a fire outbreak in various communities on grounds of not having "fuel or water for tankers" to promptly move in to prevent the spread of fire to nearby houses, compelled citizens or community dwellers to turn to "fire fighters" by imploring different kinds of methods or strategies to rescue lives and properties in their respective communities.
Dozens of lives and properties worth millions of United States dollars have been lost or destroyed to fire incidents in post-conflict due to the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the Liberia National Fire Service which is occasioned by the "drop in the ocean" allocated to the agency by the government in previous and current national budgets.
More lives and properties of eminent citizens or foreign residents would be consumed if steps are not taken by the government to adequately support the agency and destroy or prevent the construction of buildings on alleyways to create smooth access of fire trucks into the various communities during an outbreak.
