Published: May 18, 2026
GBARNGA, Bong County — A midnight fire killed two young children in Gbarnga Saturday, trapping them inside a burning house before family members could reach them.
Clarence, 4, and Dennis, 5, died after flames tore through a five-bedroom house in the Chief Compound Community around 11 p.m. The children were relatives of Bong County Administrative Officer Sam Elliott, who owns the house.
Elliott said residents heard what sounded like a transformer explosion near the Pot Boiling Entertainment Center shortly before the fire broke out. He said a tension wire connected to the house snapped following the blast and struck the building’s wall, igniting the blaze.
“At about 11 p.m., we heard a heavy blast sound from Pot Boiling Entertainment Center like the transformer supplying the community was blasted, and the tension wire connecting our house was cut and hit the wall, causing the fire,” Elliott said.
All occupants were asleep when the fire started. Some escaped but could not retrieve their belongings as the flames spread quickly through the structure. The children were in a separate room and could not be reached.
“The fire blocked the entrance and gutted the entire building,” Elliott said. “As we speak, we have not been able to recover the corpses.”
Elliott said he had reported an electrical problem with the house’s meter to the local power provider, JEP, earlier that same day. JEP dispatched technicians around 5 p.m. to carry out repairs, hours before the fire broke out. It was not immediately clear whether the earlier fault was connected to Saturday night’s incident.
Residents rushed to help douse the fire but could not stop it from consuming the building.
The deaths come as public concern mounts over aging electrical infrastructure in Gbarnga. Days before the fire, a JEP tension line along Five East Road snapped and blocked traffic for motorists and pedestrians. In a separate incident, a utility pole along the Ganta Highway caught fire, prompting an alarm from nearby residents.
The cause of Saturday’s fire has not been officially determined. Authorities have not said whether an investigation is underway.
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