Liberia: Fire Hits House’s Joint Chamber

Fire broke out at the Capitol Building in Monrovia on Tuesday, 10 December 2024, but the source was not identified immediately.

The Joint Chamber of the House of Representatives, where absentee Representatives have been meeting to oust Speaker Fonati Koffa, survived the incident.

The fire broke out while members of the Liberian Senate on Internal Affairs and the Local Government were in a public hearing.

Members of the Senate at the hearing came running following the heartbreaking news regarding the fire outbreak in the joint chamber of the House of Representatives.

The fire incident happened shortly after the Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Justice, recognized Mr. Richard Koon as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The Liberian Senate also recognized Mr. Koon and announced that it would do business with the majority bloc, which elected Mr. Koon as the Speaker.

When reporters, along with security officers, went to the Joint Chamber, the entire building was filled with smoke.

People could not breathe easily in the chamber due to the smoke.

During the team’s inspection, it was observed that the devastating fire had burned the power breakers that control air conditioning and the first floor of the Capitol Building.

The smoke gradually filled the building, leaving the walls hot. People could not easily access the building.

The fire incident has caused significant damage at the Capitol.

Many believe it was due to emergency shock, while others believe that somebody may have carried out a terrible act.

There is no official account of what may have caused the fire.

Following efforts by officers of the Liberian Senate to extinguish the fire, they placed a call to the Liberia National Fire Service, which took over an hour to respond to the situation.

The Senate called the Liberia National Fire Service because the smoke was still in the building despite efforts to extinguish the fire.

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