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Tag: fire

  • Slough bus station fire spread across whole roof

    Firefighters have contained a large fire that spread through a bus station.

    At 01:52 BST on Saturday, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) was called to a blaze across the whole roof of Slough bus station.

    The cause of the fire is unknown but Tim Readings, group manager for RBFRS, said the blaze is “mostly out”.

    He said the fire was 20m by 40m in scale and six engines were there to manage the damage.

    Mr Readings added that bus companies have looked at alternative temporary bus stops.

    Thames Valley Bus has said Route 15 would be suspended for all of Saturday and Services 2 and 5 would serve Brunel Way stops.

    Service 703 towards Bracknell will also serve Queensmere Stop G instead of Slough Bus Station’s Bay 10.

    Thames Valley Police have said: “Cordons and road closures are in place, members of the public are advised to avoid the area.”

    Roads are shut on the A4 on Wellington Street in both directions, the A332 to Queensmere Road and the B416 Stoke road.

    Source: BBC.com

     

  • Dzorwulu shooting: Our smart phones have sucked out common sense – Stonebwoy

    Dancehall musician, Stonebwoy, has expressed his opinion following the horrific shooting and fire incident that occurred in Dzorwulu on Monday, October 24, 2022.

    Earlier in a viral video, an unidentified driver of a V8 vehicle was allegedly shot by unknown assailants while his car was set on fire.

    Although it is unclear what caused the incident, it reportedly stemmed from a land dispute.

    Interestingly at the scene, an eyewitness was captured busy running a commentary in a 33-seconds video.

    The said commentator was heard asking for help for the victim while exclaiming that he is not dead.

    But reacting to this incident which has since sparked public interest, Stonebwoy appears peeved about the fact that people were more interested in recording the incident than rendering help to the victim.

    “I saw a video of a man laying hurt on the floor in Dzorwulu. A residential area with his V8 bumped/crashed into all these while there was this man filming him shouting, he is not dead ooo. With other passerby also filming until the car caught fire. This man started shouting…we need fire Ghana fire service oo. Please fire service come o. and so on and so forth. Like I am so disappointed in some of us. Our smart phones have sucked out common sense,” he wrote on social media.

    “He could have called an ambulance or fire service. Anyways realizing how long it takes for both to show up. How about quickly arranging for a taxi to carry this man to the hospital to save his life. I see many of us interested in filming the incidences that happen in order to post instead of actually saving the situation then dealing with the extras later. We can surely do better. Pls let’s try,” he added.

    Read the post below:

     

    Source:ghanaweb.com

  • Fire burnt N8bn property in Cross River – Fire Service

    The Federal Fire Service said property valued at more than N8 billion were destroyed by fire in Cross River from Janauary to Oct. 26.

    Mrs Olumayowa Olomola, Commanding Officer, Calabar Command of the Federal Fire Service, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Calabar on Thursday.

    The commanding officer said the destruction took place in 13 fire incidents reported within the same period.

    She said one death was recorded while three persons were injured in the incidents.

    Giving an instance of the value of destroyed properties, she said, “A transformer at the TCN 33 KVA sub station line at Adiabo, Calabar, that was gutted by fire in August is put at a cost of N2.6 billion.

    “We also had the fire incident at Marian fruits market that affected over 13 lock-up shops with goods and also the Airtel Mast near governor’s office.

    “We also responded to two fire incidents at the University of Calabar; another one at a Catholic school, and one mobile base transformer,” she stated.

    Olomola, who said that the command responded swiftly to the incidents, however, noted the challenges of the Service in Cross River.

    She particularly noted the high price of diesel and lack of water tankers and ambulance on its stable as hindrance to their efficiency.

    “Again, we have challenges of crowd invading the scene of fire incidents which in most times, denied us access.

    ” Most times, the aim of some persons in the crowd is to steal from the fire incident.

    “We also have the problem of traffic and travel distance to scene of fire incidents,” she said. (NAN)

     

    Source: Vanguard News

  • Driver collapses after car catches fire, burns to ashes

    Driver of a KIA vehicle with registration number GE-8466-20 has been rushed to the hospital for treatment following a fire outbreak that caught his vehicle at a fuel station at Assin Manso in the Assin South District.

    An eyewitness speaking with Angel News reporter Kwame Owusu Asante Shadrack explained that after refilling the fuel tank at the filling station, the car failed to start so the driver removed the car battery to revive it thinking it is dead.

    In an attempt to re-fix the battery, it triggered a fire outbreak.

    According to reports, the driver had no fire extinguisher in his car. Other taxi drivers driving by, therefore, offered to use theirs.

    The driver, therefore, suffered severe burns in the process of extinguishing the fire and was rushed to the hospital.

    Meanwhile, all attempts to save the car became proved futile.

    However, the intervention of the Assin Fosu Fire Service Command brought the fire under control, but the car was burnt beyond repair.

  • Fire destroys house at Mataheko

    Fire has destroyed a residential apartment at Mataheko in Accra

    The incident happened Wednesday [October 12, 2022] morning.

    According to the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), three fire pumps from the Greater Accra Regional Headquarters Substation, National Headquarters and Circle Fire Stations were sent to the scene to control the fire.

    The Public Relations Office of the Greater Accra Regional GNFS said they received the distress call at 4:52 am and the firefighters arrived at the scene at 5am.

    “The fire was well lit and upon assessment, the first crew requested assistance and 2 fire engines were dispatched to augment firefighting efforts,” the PR office said in a post on Facebook.

    “The raging fire was brought under control at 0544hours and finally extinguished at 0658hours. No casualties were recorded and fire was contained from spreading to 3 Adjoining houses”.

    It said the cause of fire was under investigation.

  • Crimean bridge fire: Blaze erupts on only bridge linking peninsula to Russia

    A large fire on the only crossing between the occupied Crimean peninsula and Russia was caused by a lorry explosion, Russian officials say.

    A blast on the road section led to oil tankers on the rail section catching fire, before the road collapsed.

    Crimea was annexed in 2014 by Russia, which now uses the Kerch bridge to move military equipment into Ukraine.

    The official Twitter account of the Ukraine government responded to the fire by tweeting: “Sick burn.”

    An adviser to Ukraine’s President Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, called the damage a “beginning” – but did not directly claim Ukrainian responsibility.

    “Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine, everything occupied by Russia must be expelled,” he tweeted.

    A still picture of the bridge was shared by Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak

    Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAC) said: “At 06:07 Moscow time today [03:07 GMT], an explosion was set off at a cargo vehicle on the motorway part of the Crimean bridge on the side of the Taman peninsula, which set fire to seven fuel tanks of a train that was en route to the Crimean peninsula.

    “Two motorway sections of the bridge partially collapsed.”

    Crimean parliamentary speaker Vladimir Kontantinov blamed the explosion on “Ukrainian vandals, who have finally managed to reach their bloody hands to the Crimean bridge”.

    He added the damage to the bridge would be “promptly restored, since it is not of a serious nature”.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has been briefed about the “emergency” on the bridge and has ordered a government inquiry, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, in comments quoted by Interfax news agency.

    The $3.7bn (£2.7bn) bridge links southern Russia with the territory it annexed in 2014 (2018 report)

    The 19km (12-mile) bridge across the Kerch Strait was opened by President Vladimir Putin in 2018, four years after Moscow illegally annexed Crimea.

    It is said to be a key target for Ukrainian forces who have been attacking Russian logistics.

    The crossing is more than 100 miles from Ukrainian-held territory. One explosives expert told the BBC said the fire was probably not caused by a missile.

    “The lack of obvious blast / fragmentation damage on the road surface suggests that an air-delivered weapon was not used,” he said

    He said it was possible that “a well-planned attack from below may have been the cause”.

    “I suspect explosives on the road bridge and train deck were initiated near simultaneously using coded radio command,” he said.

     

    Source: BBC

  • Trailer truck goes up in flames on Accra-Tema Motorway

    A video has emerged on social media of a trailer truck burning to ashes on the Accra-Tema Motorway.

    The video, shared by UTV on its Twitter handle, shows the truck abandoned on the inner edges of one side of the Motorway, while the fire blazed uncontrollably.

    It is unclear what may have caused the fire and as seen in the video, there were no first responders on sight.

    Traffic on that stretch of the road was however moving at a slow pace.

     

  • EU monitor : Warns of new wildfire record this year in Europe

    More than twice the size of Luxembourg has been burned down this year.

    This summer, most of Europe has been a tinderbox, making it easy for fires to spread. This is due to a combination of repeated heat waves, which are a result of a rising trend brought on by climate change, and a continuous lack of rainfall.

    The most recent report from the European Forest Fire Information System shows that since the start of 2022, flames have destroyed approximately 660,000 hectares of EU land, an area that is more than twice the size of Luxembourg (EFFIS).

    In 2017, the bloc’s worst wildfire year, about 420,000 hectares had been burnt by mid-August before a devastating October pushed it up to 988,087 hectares for the whole year. With the fire season far from over, the EFFIS warned that this year could set a new record.

    This year so far is “just below 2017,” EFFIS coordinator Jesús San-Miguel told Agence France-Presse on Sunday. “The situation in terms of drought and extremely high temperatures have affected all of Europe this year and the overall situation in the region is worrying, while we are still in the middle of the fire season.”

    Spain, Romania, and Portugal are the worst affected EU members. France has also been hit hard, with more than 60,000 hectares burnt as of this week, far surpassing the country’s previous record of 43,600 hectares for the entire year of 2019.

    French President Emmanuel Macron will meet with firefighters, farmers, EU emergency responders, and officials to discuss future strategies for wildfire prevention and response once the fires have died down, according to the president’s team cited in Le Journal du Dimanche on Sunday.

    Firefighters in France this weekend managed to halt the spread of a vast fire that ravaged 6,000 hectares of pine forest within 24 hours in the southwestern region of Gironde. Hundreds of firefighters from other EU countries had rushed to France’s aid over the past week to help contain the blaze.

    But with Europe heating up, wildfires are increasingly erupting farther north, too. The EFFIS‘s San Miguel said that since 2010, there had been a trend toward more fires in central and northern Europe.

    With this week’s heat wave subsiding and rain bringing some relief, EFFIS said on Sunday that the wildfire situation was improving. However, the risk remains high for the Iberian Peninsula and from eastern France across Belgium into Germany.

  • Cuba’s worst fire : Now under control after 5 days continuous burning

    On Tuesday, firefighters finally overcame what officials described as the worst fire in Cuba‘s history that over five days destroyed 40% of the Caribbean island’s main fuel storage facility and resulted in massive blackouts.

    Reuters witnesses reported the raging flames that ravaged a four-tank segment of the Matanzas supertanker port had died down and the towering plumes of thick black smoke streaming from the area were diminished and now mostly gray.
    Matanzas is Cuba’s largest port for receiving crude oil and fuel imports. Cuban heavy crude, as well as fuel oil and diesel stored in Matanzas in 10 huge tanks, are mainly used to generate electricity on the island.

    Firefighters on Tuesday finally overcame what officials described as the worst fire in Cuba’s history that over five days destroyed 40% of the Caribbean island’s main fuel storage facility and caused massive blackouts.

    Reuters witnesses reported the raging flames that ravaged a four-tank segment of the Matanzas supertanker port had died down and the towering plumes of thick black smoke streaming from the area were diminished and now mostly gray.
    Matanzas is Cuba’s largest port for receiving crude oil and fuel imports. Cuban heavy crude, as well as fuel oil and diesel stored in Matanzas in 10 huge tanks, are mainly used to generate electricity on the island.
    Mexican and Cuban firefighters work to put out the fire at the fuel depot that was sparked by a lightning strike.
    Lightning struck one fuel storage tank on Friday evening. The fire spread for a second by Sunday and engulfed the four-tank area on Monday, accompanied by huge explosions and despite efforts by local firefighters supported by more than 100 Mexican and Venezuelan reinforcements.
    Firefighter Rafael Perez Garriga told Reuters on the steaming outskirts of the disaster that he worries the fire would impact the power situation in the country.
    “The situation is going to be more difficult. If the thermoelectric plants are supplied with that oil, we are going to have the whole world affected, it is electricity and it affects everything,” he said.

    A man fishes as smoke rises from the massive fire at a fuel depot in Matanzas, Cuba, on August 9, 2022.

    A man fishes as smoke rises from the massive fire at a fuel depot in Matanzas, Cuba, on August 9, 2022.
    The Communist-run country, under heavy US sanctions, is all but bankrupt. Frequent blackouts and shortages of gasoline and other commodities already had created a tense situation with scattered local protests following last summer’s historic unrest in July.
    On Tuesday, more helicopters joined the effort to put out the fire, along with two fireboats sent by Mexico along with heavy firefighting equipment.
    “We have not yet been able to access the impact area due to the conditions. There is combustion and so we cannot risk our lives for now,” Perez said around noon.
    Smoke rises from a deadly fire at a large oil storage facility in Matanzas, Cuba on August 9.
    Later in the day firefighters for the first time were entering the area and spraying foam and water on the still smoldering remains.
    “Today we have managed to control the fire,” Rolando Vecino, head of transport for the Ministry of the Interior, said on state-run television from the scene.
    Officials have not said how much fuel has been lost in the fire which destroyed all four tanks. Authorities stated that no oil had contaminated the nearby
    Matanzas Bay. Still, they warned residents as far away as Havana to wear face masks and avoid acid rain due to the massive plume of smoke the fire generated.

    A firefighter helicopter drops water on a massive fire at a fuel depot in Matanzas, Cuba, on August 8.

    A firefighter helicopter drops water on a massive fire at a fuel depot in Matanzas, Cuba, on August 8.
    One firefighter died and 14 went missing on Saturday when the second tank blew up, authorities said on Tuesday, correcting an earlier figure of 16 missings. Five others remain in critical condition.
    Mario Sabines, governor of the Matanzas province, about 60 miles (130 km) from Havana, quipped the flames spread like an “Olympic torch” from one tank to the next, turning each into a “caldron.”

  • Fire razes down structures at Madina Ritz Junction

    A fire outbreak at Ritz Junction, a suburb of Madina, Accra, has razed down over 100 structures.

    Reporting the incident, the National Fire Service, in a Facebook post stated that the incident, which happened in the early hours of Sunday, destroyed properties worth thousands of cedis.

    “Fire damage caused to about 100 wooden structures and metal containers used for both residential and commercial purposes and their contents is quite extensive.”

    The inferno, according to the Service, started around 10:21 am but got out of hand after several attempts by the residents to douse the flame.

    The Service added that it took the intervention of firefighters from the Legon, Madina, Headquarters, Abelemkpe and Trade Fair Fire stations over an hour to bring the fire under control to prevent further spread.

    The cause of the fire, according to the Fire Service, is yet to be established.

    Causes of fire outbreak

    Fire incidents have become a regular occurrence, with thousands of lives and millions of dollars lost every year. Persons who are able to survive fire outbreaks are left with permanent scars.

    A research focusing on the trends of fire outbreaks in Ghana, revealed that the rate of fire incidence increased each year and is attributed to several factors including; unstable electricity, illegal electrical connection, negligence, burnable gas fire.

    According to reports, domestic fire accounted for 41% of the total number of fire incidents in the country.

    The Ashanti Regional Command of the Ghana National Fire Service says, 260 cases were recorded in January alone.

    In the Savannah Region,  28.3% increase in the number of fire outbreaks was recorded in the first quarter of 2022.

    To reduce such occurrences, the National Fire Service have advised Ghanaians to ensure that they put all appliances off before leaving their homes.

    Citizens are also encouraged to have emergency exit routes to ensure easy escape amidst an outbreak.

    Source: The Independent Ghana

  • Ford advising over 39,000 Expedition and Navigator owners to park outside due to fire risk

    Ford is advising the owners of 39,013 Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs to park their vehicles outdoors because they could spontaneously catch fire.

    The specific full-sized SUVs in question were all built during a four-month period between December 1, 2020 and April 30, 2021, according to a Ford statement on Thursday.
    So far, 16 of the SUVs have caught fire while parked and turned off. Fourteen of the vehicles were in rental fleets while two were owned by retail customers.
    The automaker said it is aware of one injury apparently resulting from the issue, but provided no further details about the extent of the injury or its circumstances.
    Twelve of the fires happened while the vehicle was parked and turned off, one while the vehicle was parked and turned on and three while it was in motion, according to the company.
    The exact cause of the fires, which are believed to start in the rear passenger side of the engine compartment, is still being investigated, Ford said in an announcement.
    “We are working around-the-clock to determine the root cause of this issue and subsequent remedy so that customers can continue to enjoy using their vehicles,” said Jeffrey Marentic, General Manager, Ford Passenger Vehicles.
    Owners are not being advised to stop driving the SUVs, only to keep them away from structures while parked.
    Ford will begin reaching out to owners by mail and through their Ford and Lincoln smartphone apps as soon as it has determined a list of the owners of these specific SUVs, the automaker said in a statement.
    Owners who think their vehicles might be involved can also call Ford’s toll-free number at 1-866-436-7332, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which oversees vehicle recalls.
    Ford will communicate with customers once a remedy for the potential problem has been found, the automaker said.
    Source: CNN

  • Police apartment gutted by fire

    Several household appliances in rooms on the ground floor of a three-storey building, which houses nine police officers and their families of the Nkawkaw Police Command in the Kwahu West Municipality, have been burnt beyond recognition.

    The items include fridges, television sets, furniture, dresses and others

    None of the officers on the ground floor was able to salvage any belonging in the three storey-building situated at Fire Stone Area in Nkawkaw.

    No one was hurt as all the occupants had to run with just their underwear. They were sent to the Nkawkaw Central Police for asylum.

    The cause of the accident was not readily known.

    Some of the occupants told Onua TV that over the weekend that they heard the other occupants shouting only for them to come out and realize the entire ground floor was in flames.

    They said personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service were called in to come and put the fire under control.

    The Kwahu West Municipal Chief Executive, Yaw Owusu Addo, who was at the scene to commiserate with victims, explained that all the officers have lost their entire belongings.

    He said since they need to start life all over again, he will meet with the Commander to see how best to help them.

    The Member of Parliament for Nkawkaw Constituency, Joseph Frimpong, who was also at the scene, urged the victims to calm down at this hard time.

    The MP assured that he would meet with the Assembly and the Police Commander to provide a place for the officers and their families.

    Source: 3 News

  • Fire guts NDCs Dr. Thomas Anabahs Habana Hospital in Tamale

    A private hospital belonging to a former Medical Director of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Dr Thomas W Anabah has been gutted by fire.

    The cause of the fire at Habana Hospital in Tamale on Monday, March 29, 2021, is not immediately known but some medical equipment estimated at several thousands of Ghana cedis have been destroyed.

    Preliminary investigations suggest a power surge may have triggered the inferno from the maternity block of the facility at about 1 pm.

    Personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) however managed to bring douse the inferno according to the management of the facility that serves thousands of residents of the ancient town.

    A statement from management has since suspended emergency cases have been suspended as well as appointments scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

    “Management is working around the clock to tidy the environment and resume services hopefully by tomorrow Wednesday, 12 noon. Until then, no emergency case should be rushed to the facility. All clients who have appointments for today and tomorrow can come from Thursday onwards. An announcement shall cause to remind you of resumption”, the statement read in part.

    Source: My News GH

  • Mother, 4 children killed in home fire

    A mother and her four children died in a house fire suspected to be an act of arson in Katooke Village, Nansana Municipality in Wakiso District on Saturday.

    Police identified the deceased as Darren Namutebi, 30, Aisha Birungi, 13, Jennifer Nanyonjo, 8, Mugenyi Seguya, 7, and Israel Ntulume, 6.

    Kampala Metropolitan Police deputy spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire said they suspect an electric short circuit to have caused the fire.

    He, however, said the residents including the only survivor, Mr Moses Bogere, the husband and father of the deceased, say it was a petrol bomb.

    “Mr Bogere said he heard something hitting the window in the sitting room and it was followed by a loud bang and a bright light,” Mr Owoyesigyire said. He added: “The person that the residents suspect to have been behind the case appeared at police, but he denied the allegations. We are holding him to help investigations and also protect him from angry residents.”

    According to a police report, the fire started at 1 am in the living room where the four children were sleeping and later spread to the bedroom where the parents were.

    Mr Bogere and Namutebi were rescued by the residents who dug a hole in the wall, according to police.

    However, Namutebi re-entered the house after realising that her children were still inside to rescue them, Mr Owoyesigyire said.

    “The residents say efforts to restrain her from risking her life failed. She was trapped by the fire and also died inside the house before she could save anyone,” he said.

    He said forensic experts have taken samples from the scene to establish the cause of death.

    “All the bodies will also be examined to establish whether petrol or any other inflammable liquid was used or not,” he said.

    Source: monitor.co.ug

  • Another inferno in Kumasi as fire guts warehouse at Suame Magazine

    Fire officers are battling an inferno at a warehouse used for the storage of vehicle spare parts at Suame Magazine in the Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi.

    This is the fourth fire incident recorded in the Region in three days.

    The Suame Magazine fire incident is reported to have started Tuesday morning at about 7 am.

    Two fire tenders are at the scene as fire officers break into the building to contain the situation.

    This fire comes after a fire swept through some wooden structures serving as makeshift shelters at the Dagombaline slum in Kumasi on Monday, January 11, 2021.

    Before that, there had been fires at the Republic Hall Mini Market at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, where over 10 shops were affected, and a fire incident at Aboabo station, also in Kumasi.

    The Divisional Officer Grade One in-charge of operations at the Fire Service in Ashanti Region, Francis Darko-Konoh, who spoke to Citi News about the fire also revealed that one of the fire officers has been rushed to the hospital after he sustained an injury.

    Source: citinewsroom

  • Accra Mayor and National Fire Service contradict NADMO and NPP on causes of market fires

    Government officials appear busy to hang the various fires in the market on the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

    An arrest has been made in the Volta Region, in connection with the Kantamanto market fire outbreak in Accra about a week ago, and pro-New Patriotic Party (NPP) newspapers, including Daily Guide, have in a coordinated manner reported that the alleged arsonist, is a supporter of the opposition NDC.

    NPP activists and Deputy National Youth Authority boss, Akosua Manu, on Metro TV, on Monday, December 21, 2020, painstakingly pushed the arson on the NDC and directly accused the party’s National Chairman, Samuel Ofusu-Ampofo, as the one behind the fires, insisting that the alleged audio recording which has him in a criminal trial, has elements of market burnings, murders and kidnapping among other criminal activities.

    Interestingly, the Mayor of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Mohammed Adjei Sowah and the Public Relations Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service, Ellis Robinson Oko, did not mention arson, but suggested that the fires are due to illegal electricity connection in the markets.

    The AMA boss in particular, said the illegal connections in the markets, are being addressed with an arrangement with the Millennium Development Authority (MIDA) to redevelop the markets, adding procurement procedures are ongoing.

    Both the Accra Mayor and the Ghana National Fire Service, Ellis Robinson Oko, separately spoke from the scene of the fire.

    Indeed, in the Kantamanto market fire, it is emerging that a contract has been awarded to a private company, Gold Coast Contractors to modernize the market.

    It is unclear, whether the company deliberately set out the fire in the densely populated market as a means of clearing the place ahead of the construction, which is likely to meet some resistance from the traders.

    But, ahead of the arrest in Ho, the Deputy Director-General of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), had alleged arson against the NDC, although he did not provide any basis.

    Abu Ramadan, had taken to Facebook, hours before the arrest “Fire under control. You want to be President but yet burning markets and peoples investments lost. NDC a curse to Ghana”.

    The newspapers, including Daily Guide, The Searchlight, the New Crusading, the Finder and others, have in a syndicated publication claimed that the man was arrested in Volta the Regional capital, and the police sources gave his name as Daniel Dah Kormlah, 41.

    According to the newspapers, police sources have disclosed that Daniel was identified through police investigations into the Kantamanto fire incident.

    The reports said that police and other intelligence agencies had begun arresting persons believed to be linked to recent arsons in some markets across the country.

    In November the Odawna Market in Accra, got burnt, followed by Kantamanto market then followed by the Kaneshie market, Ghana News Agency (GNA) reported that some nine shops got burnt.

    The Liberty House branch of the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) also got burnt. In Koforidua in the Eastern Region, a fire incident occurred.

    The newspapers claimed that a joint team of Police and Intelligence operatives left Accra on Thursday, December 17, 2020, in pursuit of the suspect.

    The suspect was arrested at his hideout in Ho in the Volta Region on Friday evening December 18, 2020, at about 10 pm. It said that upon further interrogation, it was realized that the suspect was an active member on various political platforms, namely NDC Group Administrators, Renaissance Agenda 2020, among others.

    The report said phone records showed several conversations with other persons aimed at incitement to riot and possible conspiracy to attack other state institutions.

    It claimed that the suspect had admitted to the said conversations and to engaging with like-minded persons to execute some acts with the potential to breach the peace of the nation, sources say. The security agencies are carrying on with their investigations to apprehend more suspects in the coming days, one source stated.

    The NDC’s Lawyer, Edudzi Tamakloe, fired back at Abu Ramadan in another Facebook post, saying “Ordinarily, I won’t give this further publicity but this is the Deputy National Director of NADMO making a serious allegation of arson against a political party without basis”.

    “In any serious country, the Police should be inviting him to give a statement. But nobody will call him because he is the in-law of Dr Bawumia. In 2012, Let My Vote Count did a rally in Taifa with many speakers”.

    One young man who spoke at the event stated clearly that “they (NPP members) should burn the markets and bomb schools to attract international attention.”

    Abu Ramadan was a member of that group. They think others will do what they possibly did in the past. A deputy NADMO boss, do a fire incident report to the Police. This is shameful”.

    Indeed, there are suspicions that the NPP is using the fires to demonize the opposition NDC to defuse the ongoing demonstrations against the irregularities that the party is complaining about with respect to the 2020 election.

    The Police service is yet to officially speak on the matter of the arrest and the extent of its investigations.

    The GNA reports that he Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has called on the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to undo illegal connections at market places to avert the increasing incidence of fire outbreaks at such places.

    Ellis Robertson Okoe, Divisional Officer II, Head of Public Relations, GNFS, said such checks were important because investigations into the fire incidents showed that most fires were caused by electrical faults.

    The call followed another fire outbreak at the Kaneshie market on Saturday, after similar incidents were recorded at the Kantanmanto Market in Accra and other markets in the Eastern and Central regions.

    He said the markets had witnessed congestion over the years with new power connections, some of which were done illegally and haphazardly and must be checked.

    “So until these issues are checked, the fires will continue.”

    Mr Okoe said a Fire Service personnel had an electric shock when fighting the Kantamanto Market fire a few days ago, and stressed the need for illegal connections to be checked.

    “This disrupted fire fighting for about 30 minutes because we had to call ECG to cut off the power before we continued.”

    “This made some people to conclude that the Fire Service came to the scene to watch if there was an outbreak before bringing our fire tenders to start fire fighting, which was not the case” he added.

    Mr Okoe advised ECG to as a matter of urgency deploy a task force to check and undo illegal connections at the markets.

    The PRO also called on traders to ensure that they always extinguished naked flames after cooking in the markets.

    The Kaneshie Market fire, which occurred in the late hours of Saturday night, engulfed nine fabric shops, which also served as a tailoring shop and a warehouse.

    Out of the nine shops, six were totally burnt and the remaining, partially salvaged.

    Mr Okoe said the fire was brought under control at midnight and totally extinguished within 30 minutes.

    He said the cause of the fire was not immediately known but suspected electrical faults.

    Source: The Herald

  • BNI picks up Otokunors driver over recent market fires

    The driver of the Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Boamah Otokunor, has been picked up by the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), formerly known as Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), 3news.com has gathered.

    The arrest is in connection with recent market fires recorded across the country.

    It is unclear what prompted the action from the NIB officials but many believe the recent spate of market fires may be deliberately masterminded by elements within the opposition party, which has since the December 9 declaration demonstrated against the results of the elections.

    Major markets in Koforidua, Kantamanto, Asankragwa and, lately, Kaneshie, have been torched in one way or the other.

    At Kaneshie, it took the intervention of personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) on Saturday night to stop the fire from spreading to other shops.

    Only nine shops were affected, 3news.com gathered, as the “robust” fire system complemented efforts by the fire officers.

    A couple of days earlier in Kantamanto, traders reeled as the central market was completely razed down.

    A provision has been made, at the instance of the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, to get the traders back in business.

    More to follow. . .

    Source: 3 News

  • Upper West records 153 fire cases from January to October 2020

    DOI Abraham Nii Dodoo, Ag. Upper West Regional Commander of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has revealed that a total of 153 fire cases had been recorded in the region with one death from January to October 2020.

    He said the damage caused by the fire within the period was valued at GH?939,611.00 while the GNFS saved property worth GH?1,115,700.00.

    DOI Dodoo revealed this at Gwollu during a ceremony to commission a fire station for the Sissala West District and to pass out 73 fire volunteers for the district.

    The Sissala West District Assembly built and furnished the facility while the GNFS provided the fire tender and personnel for the station.

    DOI Dodoo also noted that within the same period in 2019, the service recorded a total of 119 fire cases in the region with property damages valued at GH?318,737.00 while the GNFS saving GH?1,105,500.00 worth of properties.

    “This clearly shows an upsurge in the fire outbreaks in the region. These figures of the outbreak in the region is a worrying phenomenon and a development, which require a collective effort by all and sundry to support the Ghana National Fire Service to mitigate before it consumes us all”, he explained.

    DOI Dodoo urged the public to acquire fire extinguishers for their homes as first aid appliance as per the dictates of LI 2249 in the incident of any fire outbreak.

    He also appealed to managers of institutions and public places such as schools to acquire fire certificate to enable them to operate, without which one commits an offence.

    Amidu Ishaque Chinia, the Deputy Upper West Regional Minister who commissioned the station on behalf of the Regional Minister said bush fires could destroy farm produce and urged the people to take precautionary measures in order not allow fires to derail the success of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) programme of President Akuffo-Addo led government.

    The Deputy Minister, who is also the Parliamentary Candidate of the New Patriotic Party in the Sissala East constituency said through the PFJ programme, the Sissala West District was the major food basket for the Upper West Region and the country at large.

    Mr Chinia appealed to the public to ensure that peace was maintained before, during and after the December 7 election.

    He advised politicians to rather engage in the issue-based campaign and desist from politics of insults, which was injurious to the relative peace the nation was enjoying.

    The Deputy Minister also advised the youth not to allow themselves not to be used by political parties and individuals to foment trouble as the security personnel were ready to deal with any individual or group of individuals apprehended in misconduct.

    Source: GNA

  • Engagement car burnt beyond recognition at Sefwi Afere

    A Toyota 4-wheel drive has been burnt down by a mob at Sefwi Afere in the Bodi District of the Western North Region.

    The 4X4 car with registration number BA 1633-19 which was intended to be used in an engagement ceremony at Sefwi Antobia in Juaboso District was burnt down by the mob after the driver, identified as Patrick Fuakye knocked down three pedestrians.

    The pedestrians are believed to have been returning home from their farm. Two people, Kwabena Nkuah, 42 and Hamza Adama, 19 died on the spot.

    The driver subsequently reported himself to the Sefwi Juaboso Police and is currently in their custody.

    In protest, commuters along the route in a mob action attacked the car and set it ablaze using the cars electronic connections.

    The two bodies have been deposited at the Juaboso government hospital morgue for further investigations.

    The remaining survivor has been referred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital Kumasi for treatment.

    Source: myjoyonline

  • Daboya post office set ablaze after security man tries to use fire to kill bees

    Attempts by a security man at the Daboya post office in the North Gonja district of the Savannah Region to kill bees led to the burning of the post office on Tuesday, September 15, 2020.

    Sources say the security man at the post office lit fire to kill bees in the building that has been disturbing people around the post office.

    Daboya post office set ablaze after tries to use fire to kill bees0

    But the fire spread to some wood in the building.

    It took efforts of some road contractors, personnel from the ambulance service and some community members to bring the fire under control.

    This is because there is no fire station in the entire district.

    Source: citinewsroom

  • Fire destroys 12 luxury vehicles at Agric Kokode in Ashanti Region

    A dozen luxury vehicles have been burnt in a fire outbreak at Agric Kokode in Kumasi of the Ashanti Region.

    According to eyewitnesses, the fire started when some rubbish being burnt nearby extended to the fitting shop.

    The affected vehicles are salvaged cars being fixed of minor defects. There was no casualty.

    In an interview with Joy News, a car dealer who wanted to remain anonymous said he has lost vehicles to the tune of ¢270,000 to the fire.

    He noted that the incident is going to cost him dearly since he needs to invest more funds in his business to thrive.

    “Losing ¢270,000 is not easy, because I need to clear some cars at the port and I needed this money I have just lost to clear them, so now what I am going to do?” he said in tears.

    According to JoyNews correspondent Nana Yaw Gyimah, the Ghana Fire Service was eventually able to douse the fire after several hours of attempts.

    “This workshop sits in the middle of an industrial enclave so there was a possibility that it could spread to other areas. So the military, police and Fire Service were all on the ground to put out the raging fire,” he said.

    Preliminary investigations have commenced to find out the cause of the fire.

    Source: myjoyonline

  • House Party destroyed in a fire incident at Penyi

    A four bedroom house, belonging to a medical doctor has been saved from a complete destruction after it was engulfed in flame.

    This unfortunate incident happened in the afternoon of Thursday, September 3, 2020 at Penyi, a town in the Ketu North Municipality of the Volta Region.

    The timely intervention by personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) in the municipality brought the fire under control after it was battled for at least 25 minutes.

    Speaking to GhanaWeb’s Correspondent on Friday, September 4, 2020, Courage, a son of the property owner indicated that they could not figure out what actually caused the fire.

    Courage further revealed that the damages caused by the fire will amount to a cost of about GHS 15,000.

    “At least GHS 15,000 because some were in there, including the roofing and other things,” he said.

    He also revealed that some documents got burnt. He added that he could not immediately tell which documents were affected as they are yet to sort the documents out.

    Other things that got damaged are roofing sheets, the ceiling, doors, windows as well as personal belongings in the room.

    However, the GNFS in the municipality said they have begun investigations into the incident.

    A personnel who refused to give his name and also speak on camera indicated to the correspondent that they [fire personnel] could not say much about the incident because the outcome of the investigation is not yet in.

    “As at now we can’t tell you anything. As you know the thing happenout.ust yesterday so we can’t tell you right now what caused the fire. But you can come next week to see if we are done with the investigation,” the fire personnel said.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • We need food, clothes -Shiashie fire victims cry for help

    More than 500 victims of the “Kiosks Estate” fire incident at Shiashie, an Accra suburb, have appealed to individuals and institutions for material and food support.

    “We have lost everything. Not even a pin. As I sit now talking to you, I am not wearing an underwear or brassier. This is a painful situation and we need help,” Zavi, a victim said along with tears.

    The middle-aged woman who sells flip-flops, popularly known as (charley wote) said the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions negatively affected their business and that the fire occurred at the time business was about to flourish.

    “The fire took us by surprise and when it got to our kiosk my grandchildren and I were nearly trapped in it. The thought of and time to salvage our items did not even occur,” she said.

    Ms Veronica Asabil, another victim, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that she was helping her four-year-old son to sleep when she was hit by the smoke and then, the fire.

    “Quickly I had to pick my son out to save him from the fire that followed. At least I had a bag with some belongings when I came to Accra to hustle but now I am left with nothing, with no relative here to fall on in this critical moment,” she added.

    Ms Asabil said, they stood out helpless as the fire consumed their belonging to ashes and said, though Madam Lydia Seyram Alhassan, the Member of Parliament for Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency gave them some items, they needed food and money for transport home.

    Aminu Issah, a gardener and a father of two, said his television set, money, and other personal effects were burnt to ashes.

    The victims welcomed the Disaster Recovery Fund for victims set up by the MP but prayed for some help now to “to start life over again.”

    The MP also provided mattresses, 500 bags of rice, and buckets to the victims and secured the Shiashie Presbyterian Church as shelter for them.

    Madam Alhassan also donated some money to them and appealed to other residents to come to the aid of the victims.https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html

    The fire, said to have started around 0930 hours on Friday, levelled to the ground more than 50 wooden structures and shops, which served as homes to over 500 people.

    There were no casualties.

    On Sunday, when the GNA visited the area, it saw officials of the Statistical Service and the National Disaster Management Organization taking the bio-data of the victims.  

    The GNA also met scrap dealers having a field day collecting waste materials.

    Source: GNA

  • Hundreds of squatters rendered homeless as fire destroys over 60 makeshift structures at Shiashie

    Some slum dwellers at Shiashie in Accra were rendered homeless last night as fire gutted more than 60 makeshift structures.

    JoyNews Joseph Ackah-Blay who was at the scene reported that the distraught residents took shelter at a nearby church.

    According to some of the affected residents, a lot of the structures got burnt because they were too close to each other so the fire kept spreading.

    Source: myjoyonline

  • Fire guts Electoral Commission office in Accra

    Fire that erupted in the early hours of Friday, August 14, 2020 has destroyed several property at the Electoral Commission’s office in Accra.

    The fire which started at about 2.30 am, consumed almost everything in the said building located at Sapeiman in the Ga West Municipality which also serves as the Regional Office of the election management body.

    The cause of the incident is still under investigation by the Fire Service and the Ghana Police Service.

    The building is also used for the storage of old and used items for the Commission, Angelonline.com.gh has learnt.

    It, however, did not affect the main administration block.

    The fire was said to have been detected by the policeman and the night watchmen on duty at the time.

    Personnel from the Fire Service have been there to put the fire under control.

    Source: angelonline.com.gh

  • Fire guts UEW laboratory

    Fire has destroyed numerous chemicals and materials at the University of Education, Winneba, South Campus Chemistry Laboratory.

    The incident which occurred on Wednesday recorded no casualties.

    Information gathered by Kasapa FM News Yaw Boagyan from the Fire Service revealed that the fire outbreak was caused by an electrical fault.

    It took a long time for a Fire engine from Apam to come and quench the fire because the Fire engine at the Effutu Municipality is faulty.

    The workers and security officers had to help to fight the fire to prevent it from spreading.

    The extent of damage is yet to be costed.

    Source: Kasapa FM

  • Fire destroys wares worth thousands of cedis at Tarkwa

    Fire has destroyed three stores around the Tarkwa railway station, destroying goods and properties worth thousands of Ghana cedis.

    The affected structures included a mobile phone shop, saloon, and a boutique.

    The blaze was alleged to have started in the early hours on Wednesday, August 5, 2020, from the boutique and spread to the others.

    Although the cause of the fire is yet to be established, some eyewitnesses attributed the fire outbreak to an electrical fault in the area where the fire started.

    In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), the Divisional Officer Grade III, Mr Alex Assiem, the Acting Municipal Officer of Ghana National Fire Service, Tarkwa, said his officers had a hard time putting off the fire as they had to struggle through the crowd to bring the situation under control.

    He stated that no one was injured and investigations had already begun to ascertain the cause of the fire.

    Meanwhile, Mr Francis Amoah, the Municipal National Disaster Management Organization, (NADMO) Coordinator for Tarkwa-Nsuaem, had also visited the scene to access the impact and damage caused.

    Source: GNA

  • Fire allegedly destroys wares worth thousands of cedis at Tarkwa

    Fire has destroyed three stores around the Tarkwa Railway Station, destroying goods and properties worth thousands of Ghana cedis.

    The affected structures included a mobile phone shop, saloon, and a boutique.

    The blaze was alleged to have started in the early hours on Wednesday, August 5, 2020, from the boutique and spread to the others.

    Although the cause of the fire is yet to be established, some eyewitnesses attributed the fire outbreak to an electrical fault in the area where the fire started.

    In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), the Divisional Officer Grade III, Mr Alex Assiem, the Acting Municipal Officer of Ghana National Fire Service, Tarkwa, said his officers had a hard time putting off the fire as they had to struggle through the crowd to bring the situation under control.

    He stated that no one was injured and investigations had already begun to ascertain the cause of the fire.

    Meanwhile, Mr Francis Amoah, the Municipal National Disaster Management Organization, (NADMO) Coordinator for Tarkwa-Nsuaem, had also visited the scene to access the impact and damage caused.

    Source: GNA

  • Students, teachers flee as gas tanker catches fire

    Students and Teachers of the Presbyterian Senior High School in Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region fled from the school Friday when a gas tanker truck filled with Liquefied Petroleum gas (LPG) caught fire in front of the school.

    The gas tanker carrying LPG from Tema to be discharged at Mampong Akuapem caught fire on reaching Mampong Presbyterian Senior High School.

    Police and fire Service proceeded to the scene where they met the vehicle in flames.

    According to the Acting Public Relations Officer of the Eastern Regional Police Command Sargeant Francis Gomado, it took fire figters and a Police team about two hours to douse the fire preventing it from exploding.

    Source: Starr FM

  • Fire ravages Koforidua market centre, 7 shops burnt

    Fire has gutted at least seven shops in Juaben Serwaa Market in Koforidua in the Eastern Regional Capital.

    The incident happened Wednesday dawn.

    Some traders trooped to the market upon hearing the incident in an attempt to salvage items from their shops.

    Fire Fighters have arrived at the scene trying to douse the fire.

    The Juaben Serwaa Market is the second largest and populated market centre in the New Juaben South Municipality.

    The cause of the fire is not yet known.

    Source: Starr FM

  • Fire sweeps through Salt FM at Agogo

    A violent fire tore through parts of a building that houses Salt FM, a local radio station at Agogo in the Asante Akyem North District of the Ashanti Region.

    Emergency services rushed to the scene just before 3:30pm to meet workers struggle to douse the flame.

    It still remains unclear the cause of the outbreak but many devices have been destroyed in the Thursday fire.

    “So the devices in the studio, tables, chairs and other equipment have been destroyed,” a firefighter told Dailymailgh.com, adding that: “The situation is currently under control and so we will begin investigations right away.”

    Officials of the radio station are yet to comment on the incident.

    Source: Daily Mail

  • Farmer granted bail for allegedly setting fire in a forest reserve

    A 60-year-old farmer who allegedly set fire in the Tano Offin forest reserve, near Nyinahin in the Atwima-Mponua District, has been granted a GHc 60,000.00 bail with three sureties by the Nkawie Circuit Court.

    Yaw Opoku was said to have illegally entered the forest reserve and set the fire which destroyed portions of the forest reserve and tree seedlings under nursery there.

    He pleaded not guilty and would reappear before the court presided by Mr Johnson Abbey on July 19, this year, for trial.

    Detective Chief Inspector Comfort Amankwaa told the court that, the complainant was the Range Manager of the Tano Offin Forest Reserve.

    She said on February 08, this year, the Rapid Response Team got information of a fire outbreak in the reserve and rushed to fight it.

    Chief Inspector Amankwaa said the team met the accused in the forest, arrested, and handed him over to the police.

    She said the accused in his cautioned statement admitted entering the forest reserve to cut canes to weave his basket but denied setting fire to it.

    Source: GNA

  • Burnt 10-year-old girl appeals for assistance to undergo skin graft surgery

    A 10-year-old girl who suffered third-degree burns at Munamunaso, a farming community near Nsawkaw in the Tain district of the Bono Region, requires GHS10,000 to undergo skin graft surgery and other therapies.

    On Monday, 17 February 2020, the victim, Prosera Buenaa, was entrapped by fire she set up to cook food for her family who were harvesting maize on the farm.

    According to an eyewitness account, the girl left her brother and aunt, who were farming to prepare the food.

    The girl was later found unconscious with various degrees of burns on her buttocks, thighs, groin, and abdomen and was rushed to the Nsawkaw Government Hospital where she was admitted for medical treatment.

    She had been receiving medical treatment at the hospital until her referral to the Holy Family Hospital in Techiman to undergo skin graft surgery.

    Her parents, Sebastian, 49; and Vivian, 43, both peasant farmers, could, however, not raise the cost involved leading to her being discharged from the hospital.

    The family told Class News’ Maxwell Attah that they were hoping to receive some assistance from philanthropists and have, therefore, appealed for help from the general public to help the little girl go through the surgery.

    Source: Class FM

  • 3 siblings burnt to death at Sefwi Bibiani

    Three siblings, Timothy Aseda Anna Ducan, 4, Shiverra Ducan, 3, and Debora Adom Nkrumah Ducan, 11 months old, have been burnt to death at Sefwi Bibiani in an area called Gyidimu in the Bibiani Anhwiaso Bekwai Municipal in the Western North Region.

    The children lost their lives when their house caught fire on Wednesday at about 10 pm when they were sleeping.

    The fire is believed to have started from the bedroom of the children.

    Their mother, who realised that the bedroom was suddenly on fire, rushed out to cry for help while the husband had gone out to buy something.

    The people who came around to help could not rescue the children because of the heat.

    When the father returned, he asked for a wet blanket to cover himself, so, he could rescue his children but that attempt failed due to the heat from the inferno.

    He also got burnt in the process and is currently receiving treatment at the Bibiani government hospital.

    The deceased children have been deposited at the hospital morgue.

    Source: Class FM

  • Fire reportedly guts parts of A&C Mall

    The Lux Cigar Lounge and the Honney Suckle inside the A&C Mall at East Legon was burnt to ashes last night.

    The fire started around 10:17pm on Tuesday, June 2, 2020.

    It took the quick response from the Legon station of the Ghana National Fire Service to fight the situation.

    According to an eyewitness, the fire started a few minutes after a worker came to clean the place for operation.

    Assistant Divisional Officer GRADE II of the Legon Fire Station, Samuel Asare said over 26 extinguishers and 2 tenders were used to fight the fire.

    Source: Atinka FM

  • Firefighters battle inferno at foam manufacturing company in Kumasi

    Firefighters are battling a raging inferno at one of the buildings belonging to Royal Foam Limited at Ayigya, a suburb of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.

    The fire, which is said to have started at about 5 pm on Friday, gutted one of the buildings where some chemicals are stored.

    Firefighters are making frantic efforts to prevent the fire from spreading to other warehouses where foams are kept.

    About six fire tenders are currently at the scene as stranded workers of the company looked on helplessly as fire fighting efforts continue.

    The immediate cause of the fire is not yet known.

    Source: citinewsroom 

  • Two siblings in critical condition after fire guts house in Akyem Oda

    Two siblings are struggling for their lives after fire gutted a house at Akim Oda in the Birim Central Municipality of the Eastern Region.

    The two were caught up in the fire outbreak that gutted four rooms in a compound house around 7:00 pm.

    The victims both adults have been referred from Oda Government Hospital Eastern Regional Hospital in Koforidua.

    According to the Birim Central Director of the National Disaster Management Organization, NADMO, David Okyere household properties in the four rooms were completely burnt.

    He said three adult males and five female occupants of the affected rooms, as well as a child, have been displaced by the incident

    The cause of the fire has not been established.

     

    Source: Kasapa FM

     

  • Fire guts stores at the Navrongo main market

    Fire has ravaged several stores at the Navrongo main market Monday night.

    The inferno, which started at about 8pm, destroyed containers and other properties belonging to the traders.

    Three large provision stores close to the smoked mudfish market, in the same vicinity with the Zambarima Pwekura, were completely destroyed before firefighters brought it under control.

    The fire did not hurt any of the traders, but a young man who helped fight it sustained a deep cut in his right hand.

    The cause was yet to be established but the store owners suspect an electrical fault sparked the fire.

    The rapid response of the Ghana National Fire Service prevented the fire from spreading to other stores.

    The incident has resurrected the conversation on the need for the Kassena-Nankana Municipal Assembly to decongest all markets in the town to make them easily accessible in times of disaster.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • 98-year-old man killed in fire outbreak

    The body of a 98-year-old man is reported to have been burnt in a fire outbreak.

    The incident occurred at Oframase, a community near Nkawkaw in the Eastern Region.

    Officials of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) who visited the scene claim the nonagenarian who stayed alone died 12:00pm the previous day before the fire outbreak which occurred 3:30 am.

    It is suspected that the fire outbreak was caused by an electrical fault.

    The local Police have been informed about the incident while efforts are underway to trace relatives of the deceased at Kwahu Bepong to inform them.

     

    Source: Starr FM

  • Two-year-old boy dies in Kwesimintsim tanker explosion

    A 2-year-old boy lost his life after fire gutted two tanker trucks and about a dozen container shops at “Aben be bom” (Apremdo market) near Kwesimintsim in the Effia Kwesimintsim constituency of the Western Region on Wednesday.

    An eyewitness account indicates that a taxi which was being repaired in the vicinity caught fire and spread to the two diesel tankers which were stationed behind the Apremdo filling station. The tankers exploded burning about a dozen container shops in the area.

    The two-year-old boy (name withheld) who was sleeping in one of the containers, according to eyewitnesses, got burned beyond recognition whilst the mother, a mobile money vendor sustained some burns in an attempt to save the son.

    Eyewitnesses say personnel from the Ghana Fire Service arrived about 15 minutes to the scene after the fire started.

    As at the time of filing this report at about 4pm, they were still grappling with the fire.

    Smoke from the scene had darkened the Kwesimintsim skies whilst a crowd of onlookers had gathered at the scene disregarding the danger.

     

    Source: 3 News

  • Fire engulfs skyscraper in United Arab Emirates

    A fire has engulfed a skyscraper in Sharjah, one of the largest cities in the United Arab Emirates, showering debris on cars in the streets below.

    Dozens of firefighters worked to put out the blaze in the Abbco Tower using at least a dozen fire engines and drones, a local journalist reports.

    They are now trying to cool the 48-floor building down.

    There were no immediate reports of casualties or of the likely cause of the fire.

     

     

     

    Emergency services were called to the scene shortly after 21:00 (17:00 GMT) on Tuesday.

    At least five buildings nearby were evacuated as the fire service worked at the scene, the Dubai-based Khaleej Times reports.

    Source: BBC

     

  • New Takoradi: Mother, two children die in fire on Good Friday

    A fire outbreak on Good Friday has led to the death of a mother and her two children at New Takoradi, a fishing community in the Western Region.

    The mother was in her early 30s and her children were aged one and the other eight months.

    The deceased had gone to the affected structure to bath with her two children.

    The Western Regional Fire Commander, ACFO Gaddiel Ebonyi, narrating the incident said some premix fuel kept close to the bathroom was being poured into another gallon not far from a coal pot and this triggered the inferno.

    “Gallons of petrol are here, and they were pouring the petrol to another container and there was also a coal pot of fire somebody was cooking behind it. In a situation like this, there is no way the two can exist without the fire not coming into contact with that fuel.”

    “So it is the business they were transacting that brought the fire. It is simply not good for petrol to be kept in the house, the best way is to get the fuel from the filling station. According to them, they also do some mixing which could be done at the sea shore.”

    ACFO Gaddiel Ebonyi-Fire Commander, W/R
    ACFO Gaddiel Ebonyi-Fire Commander, W/R

    “So hoarding petrol in the house is not advisable at all. Please we should all stop doing things like that so we can protect our families.”

    ACFO Ebonyi also said the fire service had a difficult time accessing the houses on fire due to the encroachment on the access road and urged the residents of New Takoradi to desist from such encroachment.

     

    Source: citinewsroom 

  • Jealous girlfriend sets wood market ablaze

    Fire, allegedly started by a jealous girlfriend at the Zabrama Wood Market at Agbogbloshie, Accra, has left more than 400 people in the area homeless.

    The angry girlfriend, who is yet to be arrested, is said to have set fire to the house of her boyfriend whom she accused of abandoning her and two other women (after impregnating them) and harbouring another woman in his house.

    Last Tuesday (April 7, 2020), the angry woman allegedly mobilised the two other women and approached the man, resulting in a confrontation during which one of the women set the room on fire.

    Properties worth thousands of Ghana cedis were destroyed during the fire, which started at about 1:50 a.m. and lasted for about three hours before the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) could douse it.

    Structure destroyed

    When the Daily Graphic visited the area later in the day, some policemen were spotted patrolling the area but the fire service personnel had already left the scene.

    It was observed that the entire wood market and adjoining wooden structures, serving as residence for over 400 people, were completely razed to the ground.

    Other structures, including a mosque, were also affected.

    Clashes

    The Head of the Operations Unit of the Accra Regional Police Command, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mr Kwesi Ofori, said the police received information at about 1:55 a.m. about a fire outbreak at the Zabrama Wood Market at Agbogbloshie.

    He said when the fire engines of the GNFS arrived at the scene, the haphazard arrangement of structures in the area made it difficult for the trucks to access the scene, compelling the firefighters to aim at the fire from a far distance.

    ACP Ofori confirmed that the police had also picked up information that the fire was started by a jealous woman but the information was yet to be authenticated.

    Later, some youth who belong to one of the ethnic groups in the area and who lost their property to the inferno, allegedly went on the rampage, attacking residents from the said ethnic group after learning that it was caused by a woman from another ethnic group.

    The intervention of the police led to the evacuation of some youth to avert a breach of the peace in the area.

    ACP Ofori said about five police patrol teams were deployed to the scene to bring the situation under control and also help in the evacuation of some vulnerable persons, including the aged, women and children, to safety, while the fire service doused the fire.

    The Regional Police Operations Unit head said he was “happy that no lives were lost even though the fire started at dawn when many people in the affected area were sleeping.”

    He said the police would continue to be on the ground to ensure that criminals did not take advantage of the situation.

     

    Source: Graphic.com.gh 

  • Thousands left homeless as fire engulfs over 800 structures at Old Fadama

    Thousands of people living at Old Fadama, an urban slum area, have been rendered homeless following a fire outbreak which destroyed over 800 wooden structures on Tuesday dawn.

    According to eyewitnesses, the inferno which started around 2 am spread quickly as most of the structures were made of wood.

    Several properties, running into thousands of Ghana Cedis have been lost in the fire according to a report by The Ghana Report.

    However, no casualties have been recorded.

    The victims, who are mainly head potters(kayayei), mechanics and traders were unable to salvage any of their belongings.

    They accused the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) of displaying a careless attitude towards the situation.

    According to them, the Fire Service arrived at the scene with empty fire tenders tank and this, they said, added to the wild spread of the fire.

    The stranded victims have called on the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and benevolent citizens to come to their aid.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • Fire guts factory, houses at Agbogba

    Three semi-detached houses and a factory at Agbogba, a suburb of Accra, have been gutted by fire.

    The incident occurred a few minutes before midday.

    Even though the cause of the fire is not yet known, residents suspect an industrial gas leakage.

    When UTV correspondents reached the scene, personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service and National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) were still scrambling to completely put out the fire.

     

    Source: peacefmonline.com

  • Ho Assemblies of God Church catches fire during Facebook live streaming

    The Central Assemblies of God Church in Ho was Wednesday evening gutted by fire when some youth of the church were streaming a Facebook live service.

    According to eyewitnesses, they saw an air conditioner affixed to the office of the senior pastors on fire a few minutes before 7:00 pm.

    They said they called the Fire Service immediately and after about 15 minutes, the fire fighters arrived with a fire tender but had a tough time battling the blaze.

    Together with the support of some youth of Ho Ahoe, the fire fighters eventually managed to contain the fire until two additional fire tenders arrived.

    A number of offices attached to the church building were damaged by the fire.

    Source: Citinewsroom.com

  • Ho: Assemblies of God church catches fire during online service

    The Central Assemblies of God Church in Ho has been gutted by a fire.

    The fire started around 7:00 pm on Wednesday.

    Some youth of the Church were conducting a Facebook live service on the premises when the fire started.

    The youth said they smelled smoke in the chapel but were unsure of what it was until they were prompted by the security to vacate the chapel.

    Some eyewitnesses who spoke to Citi News said they saw an airconditioner affixed to the office of the Senior pastors on fire a few minutes before 7:00 pm.

    They said they called the Fire Service immediately and after about 15 minutes, the firefighters arrived with a fire tender but had a tough time battling the blaze.

    Together with the support of some youth of Ho Ahoe, the firemen eventually managed to contain the fire until two additional fire tenders arrived.

    A number of offices attached to the church building were greatly damaged by the fire.

    Youth who were at the scene, however, helped to remove some chairs and sounds systems from the chapel before the fire could destroy anything there.

    The Senior Pastor of the Church, Godson K. Bodza who was recently posted there said, ”The Church of God will bounce back with a super magnificent structure to the glory of God.”

    He urged calm amongst the congregants and concerned youth who gathered at the church premise.

    As at press time, fire officers were still battling to douse the fire.

     

    Source: citinewsroom 

  • Fire guts Onion Market at Old Fadama

    More than fifty wooden structures had been gutted by fire at “Onion Market” at Old Fadama in Accra on Monday dawn in Accra.

    The fire which was said to have started at about 2:15 a.m also destroyed empty onion sacks, quantities of bags of rice, bags of salt and other properties running into hundreds of Ghana cedis.

    No casualty was recorded and the cause of fire unknown.

    Four fire tenders from South Industrial Area and other fire stations were deployed to help douse raging fire.

    The Public Relations Officer of the Accra Regional Police Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Effia Tenge confirmed these to the Ghanaian Times in Accra yesterday.

     

    Source: ghanaiantimes.com.gh

  • Fire razes makeshift wooden structure in Accra

    More than 30 workers of the Chinese State Hualong Construction were displaced on Tuesday due to a fire outbreak that completely destroyed a makeshift wooden structure located near the Office of the First Lady.

    The Ghana News Agency (GNA) observed that the five wooden structures which housed workers of the construction company were completely bent into ashes but no casualties were recorded.

    The intervention of fire service personnel at the Ministries Fire Station quenched the fire when all attempt by some workers around to put out the fire failed.

    Even though the cause of the fire could not be immediately ascertained, information gathered by GNA revealed that the fire started in one of the building and subsequently spread to the other wooden structures.

     

    Madam Naomi Ofori-Adobea (DOII), the Commander in charge of Ministries Fire Station in an interview with GNA said they suspected the fire outbreak was caused by an electrical fault since there were only two extension boards for the wooden structures.

    She said the fire service personnel were informed that the fire outbreak started at 15:02 hours and their team of seven personnel did their best to put out the fire at 17:26 hours.

    “The fire destroyed the entire structure, including clothing, money, beds, cooking utensils, gas cookers, television, laptops, among others”, she said.

    Madam Ofori-Adobea said their team worked tirelessly to prevent the spread of the fire to the adjoining buildings which were closer to the Office of the First Lady and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development.

    She said the fire was able to spread easily because the structures were all made up of combustible materials, noting that investigations were underway to ascertain the cause of the fire outbreak.

    Mr. Ebenezer Mensah, who occupies one of the wooden structures said the structure housed workers of the Chinese company working on the State House project (Job 600).

    He said the fire outbreak started in their absence since they were all at work, adding that it took several hours for those around to bring the fire under control.

    He appealed to government and other institutions to come to the aid of the victims and provide a shelter for them since they have nowhere to sleep.

    China State Hualong Construction (Ghana) Limited is a comprehensive group corporation mainly engaged in industrial and civil buildings, construction of municipal roads and bridges, and international engineering contracting.

     

    Source: GNA 

  • Fire razes makeshift wooden structure in Accra

    More than 30 workers of the Chinese State Hualong Construction were displaced on Tuesday due to a fire outbreak that completely destroyed a makeshift wooden structure located near the Office of the First Lady.

    The Ghana News Agency (GNA) observed that the five wooden structures which housed workers of the construction company were completely bent into ashes but no casualties were recorded.

    The intervention of fire service personnel at the Ministries Fire Station quenched the fire when all attempt by some workers around to put out the fire failed.

    Even though the cause of the fire could not be immediately ascertained, information gathered by GNA revealed that the fire started in one of the building and subsequently spread to the other wooden structures.

    Madam Naomi Ofori-Adobea (DOII), the Commander in charge of Ministries Fire Station in an interview with GNA said they suspected the fire outbreak was caused by electrical faults since there were only two extension boards for the wooden structures.

    She said the fire service personnel were informed that the fire outbreak started at 15:02 hours and their team of seven personnel did their best to put out the fire at 17:26 hours.

    “The fire destroyed the entire structure, including clothing, money, beds, cooking utensils, gas cookers, television, laptops, among others”, she said.

    Madam Ofori-Adobea said their team worked tirelessly to prevent the spread of the fire to the adjoining buildings which was closer to the Office of the First Lady and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development.

    She said the fire was able to spread easily because the structures were all made up of combustible materials, noting that investigations were underway to ascertain the cause of the fire outbreak.

    Mr Ebenezer Mensah, who occupies one of the wooden structures said the structure housed workers of the Chinese company working on the State House project (Job 600).

    He said the fire outbreak started in their absence since they were all at work, adding that it took several hours for those around to bring the fire under control.

    He appealed to government and other institutions to come to the aid of the victims and provide a shelter for them since they have no were to sleep.

    China State Hualong Construction (Ghana) Limited is a comprehensive group corporation mainly engaged in industrial and civil buildings, construction of municipal roads and bridges, and international engineering contracting.

    Source: GNA