A devastating fire ravaged the former home of Mama Nenilava Volahavana Germaine yesterday at 9:15 a.m., an emblematic site linked to the "Awakening of Ankaramalaza" movement of the Malagasy Lutheran Church, located in Ambohibao Antehiroka. The tragedy claimed the life of Mirantsoa, a 13-year-old girl.

Despite the neighbors' best efforts to contain the flames before the firefighters arrived, the house was quickly engulfed in flames. A witness reported hearing the electrical panel trip twice, then being alerted by the child's cries upstairs. Flames were already pouring out of the locked bedroom.

Pastor Ludovic Raherinirina, a resident of the area, described a scene of chaos, with exits blocked by fire, requiring the use of ladders and the breaking down of doors by rescue workers.

The body of the young victim, described by Dr. Prospère Ranarivony, head physician of the Lutheran hospital in Ambohibao, as "charred" and bearing "severe burns," was found by firefighters. The girl, described as frail, was in the care of the occupants; her mother lived in the neighborhood and suffered from mental illness.

The exact circumstances of the fire remain under investigation. One version of events suggests the fire may have started in the room where the little girl was cooking. Panicked, she reportedly went downstairs to alert the others, then went back upstairs to lock the door in a desperate attempt to contain the fire, before being trapped by a falling plank.

This destroyed house represented a place that was both familial and spiritual, housing the relatives and collaborators of the late Mama Nenilava, as well as a chapel and a reception area for the sick.

Following this tragedy, the mayor of Antehiroka, Toky Harilanto Andrianarivelo, noted that his district had experienced two similar fires in the past two months. He urged residents to be more vigilant with their electrical installations and appealed for solidarity to help rebuild the devastated spiritual center.