Fire razes a dozen shops in Great Soppo

A three-year-old baby is thought to be the cause of the inferno on May 26, 2015.

The inhabitants of Buea, particularly the Great Soppo neighbourhood, were in great distress due to the fire outbreak that occurred near the famous ‘Moki Garage’ on May 26, 2015, at about 8.45 am.

Two General Certificate of Education, GCE candidates testified having lost their acceptance slips to the fire. They are to sit the examination that begins on Monday, June, 1, 2015.

The fire burnt down two apartment blocks and a dozen shops, though no life was lost. The fire is alleged to have been caused by a three-year-old child, who in the absence of her mother who went to fetch water, lit a lighter on a wallpaper which slowly and eventually spread all over the house.

The Divisional Officer for Buea, Paul Kouam Wokam, visited the scene a few hours later. The DO told the press he was working hand in gloves with the Buea Central Police Station to identify the owners of the burnt shops who should declare the content of so as to enable the evaluation of the material lost.

He urged the population to remain calm and give assistance to the victims so that they would not suffer theft of the recovered material. He equally thanked the people for quenching the fire and preventing the situation from getting off-hand.

He comforted the victims who suffered great losses and called on them to continue with the same efforts to rebuild their lives.

“Everything got burnt. I did not remove anything from the house, not even a pin. I do not know what we will do. My sister and I are to write the GCE, but our examination slips and books got burnt,” explained Amabo Che Yannick, a fashion dress dealer and one of the victims of the blaze.