Asafo fire: One dead, 40 structures burnt
One person is confirmed dead as fire swept through scores of structures at Asafo near the VIP Bus terminal in Kumasi.
The fire started at about 2:23 pm on Sunday, May 2, 2021, and razed all the structures located at the entire slum.
The cause of the fire is not known, but properties worth hundreds of Ghana cedis have been lost at the pillow and mattress manufacturers enclave.
Two fire tenders were dispatched to the scene, and fire-fighters spent over fours before bringing the fire under control.
The body of the deceased has been conveyed to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital morgue.
The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital Fire Commander, Divisional Officer Grade 3, Simon Ben Boadu, who confirmed the incident, said his men had a tough time dousing the inferno due to the dense population and the intensity of the fire.
The region has recorded several fire incidents this year.
Over 30 Shops Gutted By Fire At Kumasi Central Market
Parts of the Kumasi Central Market was engulfed in fire on Sunday, April 18, which affected 30 shops.
The affected area was dominated by persons who trade in leather materials.
The fire was attributed to illegal wiring.
The Ashanti Regional Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Fire Service, D.O 3 Desmond Ackah said: “Our preliminary investigations point to the fact that the place is bedevilled with a lot of illegal wiring activities. Those wirings have been compromised, and they don’t have any protection. They lack earthing systems, breakers, fuses and all the systems that can take excess circuitry”.
“So at the time of the fire, there was a rainstorm with thunder and lightning activity. They suspect that these lighting flashes must have generated excess current into the illegal wiring connectivity there and caused this fair risk. This was also confirmed by the eyewitnesses,” he stated.
Dagomba Line Fire
Scores of wooden structures were gutted at the Dagomba Line slum which provides shelter for head porters, petty traders, scrap dealers, and some homeless people.
The same area was affected by a fire at least twice in 2020 with more than 10,000 people being displaced.
The National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) had to provide relief for the victims.
Aboabo fire
Fire razed more than 30 shops in the early hours of January 10 prompting firefighters to deploy five tenders to ensure the fire did not spread to other shops.
The firefighters battled the inferno for over three hours before bringing it under control.
The cause of the fire is not known, but some shop owners suspected an electric welder who was carrying out repair works in one of the metal containers in the area.
KNUST incident
At the KNUST, the fire swept through 10 shops at a mini-market behind the Republic Hall.
This occurred barely 24 hours after the tertiary institution re-opened for academic work after staying home for many months due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Several items in container shops were destroyed when the fire was brought under control by fire-fighters at about 02:55 am.
University Relations Officer (URO) of KNUST, Dr. Daniel Norris Bekoe told theghanareport.com there were no fatalities contrary to reports by some people on social media.
However, some students had to be evacuated from the Republic Hall for their safety.
Management entreated the public to disregard false information circulated on social media that 17 persons, including a porter, lost their lives.
Yesterday’s incident comes just a week after four people were killed in a domestic fire at Manso-Aponapon in the Amansie South District of the Ashanti Region.
Power upsurge coupled with poor wiring systems were said to have caused the blaze, the Ghana National Fire Service said.