The room of a grade 8 student at Bakau Upper Basic School was on Sunday night ravaged by an inferno which burnt her belongings and household materials to ashes.

Although Mariama Fatty was lucky not to be in her room when the fire started, the devastation has miserably turned her life around, as none of her belongings could be rescued.

Belongings, such as bedsheets, wardrobe, sets of school uniforms, and books, all perished in the fire, which alarmed hundreds of concerned neighbours and onlookers who besieged the building to fight back the fire.

Narrating this sad news to Daily Observer, Ma Nyima Jatta, landlord of the compound and a guardian to the victim, said she came to know about the inferno when she heard one of her daughters yelling at the top of her voice, which scared the hell out of them.

“I came out from my room and saw the fire blazing at Mariama’s room. I immediately shouted for help and neighbours came to our aid,” she said.

The inferno, she added, couldn’t stop blazing despite numerous efforts by the neighbours, but the intervention of the firefighters from the Gambia and Ambulance Services finally put it off.

Nyima Jatta, another eyewitness, said the exact cause of the fire could not be ascertain as they only saw the room blazing at a time when no one was inside.

Ms Jatta then appealed to the government, NGOs, philanthropists and other donors for assistance to the poor girl.

It could be recalled that a similar incident occurred couple of months ago when a landlady’s compound was ravaged by a fire outbreak.