Behaviour of the public, following the collision, was a major contributing factor to the scale and seriousness of the Wellington petrol tanker fire disaster of November 5, 2021 which left at least 154 people dead, according to the findings of the Task Force which was set up by President Julius Maada Bio to investigate the disaster.
The report, which was presented to President Bio on Thursday, shows that despite the tanker driver using a megaphone borrowed from a nearby seller to advise the public to avoid the scene, he was reportedly insulted, and his advice completely ignored.
The report proves that the fire disaster occurred following the collision between the fuel tanker and the tipper truck over half an hour before the explosion.
310 people were affected by the incident, and 154 deceased were recorded (including those found dead on the scene and those who later died in hospital).
Eighty-six (86) of the deceased could not be identified and sixty-nine (69) missing persons were reported, according to the report.
The findings revealed that in addition to the fuel tanker and tipper truck, the following property were affected by the fire: two (2) dwelling houses; five (5) small shops; twenty (20) vehicles; forty-eight (48) motorbikes; and three (3) motorized tricycles (kekes).
Presidential Task Force was mandated to investigate the causation of the accident and proffer recommendations to avoid future occurrences;
look into the conduct of traffic management officers close to the scene of the accident and the capacity of disaster management institutions amongst other things.
Capacity andEffectiveness of Institutions Responding to the Disaster
During the course of investigations, it was revealed that following the accident, National Petroleum (SL) Ltd released a team of trained personnel to attend to the Bulk Road Vehicle (BRV) accident, with the aim of minimizing the hazard and preventing members of the public from accessing the fuel. “They were however, delayed in reaching the
accident site due to the traffic jam, prior to the subsequent explosion,” the report shows.
The National Fire Force used four fire engines to extinguish the fire. The report shows that the turnaround time of the fire engines was constrained because of the location of water sources (at Macdonald, near Waterloo and Kissy Fire Station, considerable distances from the site) during the response operation. “This is considered a serious limitation to the turnaround time for effective response, resulting in NFF taking a longer time to overcome the blaze than if functional fire hydrants had been readily accessible near the accident site,” The Report indicates. It is worth noting that in 2006, there were reportedly 287 fire hydrants across Freetown. As of 2022,there are currently only 6 functional fire hydrantsin the city. “This limited number of hydrants for a modern city is seen as an anathema to effective response to fire disaster.” The firefighters utilised safety equipment made available to National Fire Force (NFF) by the World Bank through the Office of National Security. Without the safety equipment the firefighters would have found it difficult and near impossible to fight a petroleum-based fire.
The report also shows that during the initial incident response, the management displayed some weaknesses.
The report states, “A lack of immediate, or delayed cordoning of the scene by the police led to members of the public obtaining access to the fuel leaking from the tanker and is a key contributing factor to the circumstances facilitating the eventual explosion.”
As the first responders took the casualties to the hospitals for treatment, it was noted that the main Government Hospital (Connaught Hospital), which is the main referral hospital became quickly overwhelmed. Thus, some patients with severe burns were taken to 34 Military Hospital, Emergency Hospital and Choithrams Hospital.
The report documented the lack of key equipment and medical supplies for burns casualties as none of the medical centres where victims were admitted had burns units for burn victims. This is reflective of the wider potential logistics single point of failure. In addition to this, there are only 2 plastic surgeons in the country, available to provide services for the numerous victims in need of reconstructive surgery. This in itself is a big gap in the provision of health facilities and treatment of burn victims. Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) however received wide-ranging support from other countries in the area of medical supplies as well as food, financial aid and assorted items for the victims.
Chair of the Committee and Director General of the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) Lt. Gen. (Rtd.) Brima Sesay said,
“At the outset…despite the tanker driver using a megaphone borrowed from a nearby seller to advise the public to avoid the scene, he was reportedly insulted, and his advice completely ignored,” he said.
“Your Excellency, it is fervently hoped that one critical turnaround point in the entire emergency management establishment in the country is the provision of knowledge to the public on dangers associated with industrial products in BRVs or fuel tankers that ply the carriage-way in the country,” he said.
In his response, President Bio described the incident as a national disaster the magnitude of which they had never seen in recent times, adding that he had to cut short his trip abroad to return home to provide leadership, give hope and console the bereaved.
“We were overwhelmed but, in the circumstances, you led the response. I want to use this opportunity to thank you the NDMA and all other agencies that were first responders. It includes the military, the fire force, the medical team and all forces that came to help on that day.
“I was particularly pleased with the health professionals who did their best and took care of our compatriots, the victims. This is a clearer indication that we must all work together, especially at difficult times,” he said.
He assured that his Government was going to take a closer look at the findings and recommendations and definitely look at what policy and measures they could take henceforth to prevent any such possibilities. “But I think the lessons brought out in these recommendations, especially with regards to lawlessness, to the inactions by certain agencies or lack of rapid reactions to incidents of this nature, point to the fact that as a government we should prevent, where possible, or should always be ready for incidents of this nature,” he concluded.
By Alusine Sesay