Ganta, Nimba County – Chaos erupted in the John Wesley Pearson Community of Ganta after an angry crowd chased the county’s only fire service truck.
The incident occurred on November 6, 2024, following a fire incident that completely destroyed a house with four bedrooms around 5:00 PM.
Community members accused the fire service of responding too late, claiming the building was already reduced to ashes upon their arrival. Despite the heated confrontation, no fatalities were reported, and the cause of the fire remains unknown.
The deputy County Commander of Nimba for the National Fire Service, Stanley Quoi, revealed that the angry mob attempted to damage the fire truck, forcing the crew to leave the scene. He explained that the team had rushed from Sanniquellie to Ganta in just 15 minutes to combat the blaze but faced hostility from the crowd upon arrival.
Quoi attributed the residents’ actions to a lack of understanding of how the fire service operates, warning that such behavior could deter firefighters from responding promptly in the future.
Meanwhile, prominent Ganta businessman, Aaron Gboko, condemned the crowd’s actions and stressed the urgent need for a local fire service substation in Ganta.
Gboko emphasized the inadequacy of having only one fire truck for a county of over 621,000 residents. He called on Nimba lawmakers and humanitarian organizations to intervene and improve fire response services in the county .
Just last month , families and business owners were affected by devastating fire that destroyed five shops in Sanniquellie which came weeks after a similar fire incident in Ganta that caused significant damage to multiple businesses, including a gas station, a drugstore, a guest house, and other establishments
