AWEIL – Dozens of residents in Aweil town of South Sudan’s Northern Bahr El Ghazal State were left homeless after a devastating fire destroyed more than 31 houses on Sunday night.
The blaze, which occurred on Sunday at 4:00 PM at Madira 1, a residential area of Aweil town, destroyed 31 grass-thatched houses, forcing residents to seek alternative shelters in the neighboring estates.
William Liol Chol, Director of the State Department of Civil Defense, confirmed the event to Sudan’s Post on Tuesday, saying that fire crews and UNMISS later put out the fire.
“The fire consumed 31 households on Sunday evening, and we had to rush there with a team to extinguish the fire, but it was sporadic everywhere as a result of grass-thatched shelters, so it spread so fast,” Chol said.
“As the situation escalated, the UNMISS forces came with the truck full of their team and with the fire extinguishing equipment till we managed to put off some parts, which we saw were inflammable, particularly areas with fuel.”
According to Chol, the cause of the fire outbreak has not yet been determined.
“We are trying hard to instill this or inculcate the importance of having concrete buildings to avoid the spread of fire in the neighborhood,” he said.
According to him, a woman has been taken into custody on suspicion of starting a fire at a nearby restaurant, which spread and burned thirty-one homes.
He pleaded with the UNMISS to arm the Civil Defense to strengthen their firefighting efforts.
He advised parents not to be irresponsible or assign children fire-related tasks.
