Fire Renders 15 Homeless at Bakweri Town, Buea

Divine Mbimenyuy and his family endured their first night without a home after a devastating fire. On Friday night, Divine left work around 8:30 p.m. and returned home, only to find the house he had left that morning engulfed in flames. His wife and children, who had been at home, survived—but all of their belongings were lost.

“What you are seeing in the middle of the ashes is my gas bottle,” he said, pointing, standing helplessly amid the ruins.

The bottle was the only item that withstood the blaze.

“On my way home, I received a call that there was a fire incident in my compound. When I arrived, everything was gone,” Divine recounted.

“I am doing odd jobs to survive. My family and I need help,” he added.

Divine was a tenant in the plank house that was occupied by about 15 persons opposite Pala-Pala Field at Bakweri Town.

One of the houses that was completely wrecked by fire belongs to the father of a HiTV journalist, Daniel Ekome. Daniel was also called to the scene just for him to meet his father’s house all in ruins.

He explained that his father, who had been at home when the fire started, was rescued and rushed to a neighbouring house by those who came to help extinguish the flames.

The fire completely ravaged the houses, spread to a neighbouring block, and partially destroyed its roof. Shops along the roadside were also affected. However, goodwill residents from the quarter managed to salvage some items from the shops, while owners stood by, crying as the fire devoured their businesses.

No Fire Unit in Buea

The fire raged for about an hour before residents managed to put it out. There was no fire brigade response, and residents had no immediate access to water. They struggled to use the few litres available from their homes, but it was insufficient. Resorting to sand and stones, they finally contained the fire before it could spread further.

It was only after the blaze was extinguished that police officers arrived to collect information about the incident. Buea, the capital of the Southwest Region, reportedly has a firefighting brigade, but it remains poorly equipped. Notably, a few months ago, another nearby house also suffered a similar fate.

Cause Attributed to Electrical Spark

Though no official statement has been issued regarding the cause of the fire, residents believe it stemmed from an electrical spark.

“Yesterday, the transformer—which is just beside—caught fire, and the people put it out with stones. Today, owing to the constant on-and-off of electricity, we noticed a spark that soon grew into a fire,” one of the residents who helped quench the flames told us.

They added that recent days have been marked by low voltage. The fire broke out directly under high-tension cables connected to a transformer near the affected buildings. Some residents could be seen disconnecting damaged cables to prevent further destruction.

Recurrent Fire Incidents in Buea

The tragedy at Bakweri Town is the latest in a series of fire incidents plaguing Buea. Just last month, the palace of Wotolo in Bonduma, near Nabesk Secondary School, was completely gutted by fire.

Despite the best efforts of Good Samaritans to save property, losses worth hundreds of millions of FCFA were recorded.

Prior to that, several other fires had been reported, particularly affecting houses built with wooden planks.

Mimi Mefo Info