Over a hundred homes recently burned to the ground in New Billing, a community in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea's capital. Image by William Sands. Equatorial Guinea, 2012.
Residents of New Billing rush to put out the fire. Image by William Sands. Equatorial Guinea, 2012.
What was once someone's home smolders as the fire burns out. Image by William Sands. Equatorial Guinea, 2012.
A New Billing resident in the path of the fire. Image by William Sands. Equatorial Guinea, 2012.
New Billing residents try to dismantle homes next to the fire. Image by William Sands. Equatorial Guinea, 2012.
Residents throw water on the fire from the roof of a nearby home. Image by William Sands. Equatorial Guinea, 2012.
There is a mad scramble to empty all the homes near the fire. Image by William Sands. Equatorial Guinea, 2012.
Another home burned to the ground. Image by William Sands. Equatorial Guinea, 2012.
The Equato-Guinean fire brigade arrives at the scene without water. Image by William Sands. Equatorial Guinea, 2012.
From the distance plumes of smoke billow from the heart of the fire. Image by William Sands. Equatorial Guinea, 2012.
The residents of New Billing are left to fend for themselves. Image by William Sands. Equatorial Guinea, 2012.

See also

Published February 16, 2012

William Sands, for the Pulitzer Center, Equatorial Guinea

On Jan. 23, a house fire ravaged the community of New Billing, or Campo Yaunde, in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea. Nearly a hundred homes were destroyed by what was probably a cooking fire, most likely the result of unsupervised children attempting to cook. Fires like this one are a frequent occurrence in communities like New Billing, where the residents live in cramped shacks made of wood and tin.

When the fire brigade finally arrived, the blaze had already been brought under control. Their late arrival hardly mattered—the water tanks of their trucks were empty. The residents of New Billing were left to fend for themselves. They scrambled to empty houses in the path of the fire, trying to save as many possessions as possible. Fortunately, no one died and there were few serious injuries. A similar fire in the same community last November left a 4-year-old boy dead.

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