On Monday 9 February, as part of Freetown City Council’s initial response, Her Worship the Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr OBE, together with Deputy Mayor Kweku Lisk, visited the scene of the fire disaster that occurred on Sunday, 8 February, at ECOWAS Street, which resulted in the destruction of several businesses.

Representatives of the National Disaster Management Agency were also part of the visit; a survey of affected victims will be conducted by NDMA as per standards operating procedures. The Mayor expressed her heartfelt sympathy to the affected business owners and voiced hope that the cause of the fire would be established to help reduce the risk of similar disasters in the future.