Following recent claims made by Sierra Leone Fire Force Service that the sometimes deadly fire disasters occurring in the country’s capital are mainly caused by issues with electricity, the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority has denied these allegations.

The back and forth between these two very integral agencies in the country came about after a fire, on November 3rd gutted more than 24 homes at Moa Wharf, a slum settlement in the capital city.

And in the ensuing response after fire victims castigated the fire department for not responding sooner to calls for distress, Bintu Fatmata Kamara, the fire service divisional officer,
said EDSA Sierra Leone services may have been responsible for much of the fire disasters.

“Ninety percent of the fire incidents we’ve recorded are caused by electricity,” Kamara said.

In response, the EDSA Communications and Community Relations Manager Sahr Nepo disagreed with such claims.
“I believe that the fire force should not have just merely spoken about this, they should have conducted investigations and published the outcome of their reports on the investigation. The report would have been able to ascertain the cause of the fire outbreak. Fire incidents occur in different areas for different reasons”, Nepo said.

“Investigations conducted proved that someone left a burning candle unattended, and the melted candle substance was found”, Nepo continues.

He added, “As a responsible institution, we, as EDSA, have got professionals, engineers, and technicians out in the field on a 24-hour basis; checking on our installations and connections to ensure that our connectivity is appropriate and raise the flags where there are issues for us to resolve them”.

Although EDSA is denying the company isn’t to blame for the spate of fire incidents around the city, the fire department, however, isn’t the only one pointing fingers at them.

Other affected people of fire disasters in Freetown have also voiced their concerns about the blazes blaming EDSA directly.

Sahr Nepo continues defending EDSA by stating that “We do not utilize the power in our customers’ premises. We are transporters of electricity. We ensure to take the power from the generation source and transmit it to the lines – also known as poles – down to the meter of customers. From that point, it is the responsibility of the customer to enjoy the light internally. We are not responsible for fixing customers’ internal lines as they hire contractors for it which is not part of our mandate nor our responsibility to know how customers use their appliances”, Nepo said.

He says EDSA’s job or responsibility stops at supplying meters.

“But in a situation wherein a problem occurs as a result of our connections, then, the fire force should be able to ascertain that in a report sent to us, and if it’s our fault, we will accept it. There have been no recent authentic reports pointing fingers at EDSA”, Nepo said.

Sahr Nepo advised customers to monitor the use of their appliances, and put off their meter means before stepping out of their homes.

“I assure the public of EDSA’s commitment to doing its best, and educating the public on the use of power supply in their houses”.

He encouraged customers to reach out to EDSA at all times because they are the right people to make reports on power supply issues.

Nepo pleaded with the public to refrain from hiring untrained personnel ‘quack’ electricians,’ or ‘boys’ with little or no knowledge to perform electrical connection work in their homes.

“Customers often fail to accept that they are responsible for the electrical problems, as they hire people without the know-how of power supply. They instead blame EDSA. We will continue to do the good work in providing adequate electricity to Sierra Leoneans, and keep on advising them on how to use electricity to prevent problems along the way”, Nepo said.

He asked the general public to always reach out to them by phone at 672 – the general national toll-free number.

Or on 079695104 accessible on all national networks.
Nepo said the public could also reach them on Facebook and Twitter.